The Girl Who Saw - Not Alone
by 1stOfficerFan
Summary: What if Harry had family... sort of? What if he had a sibling-type person that, until he attended Hogwarts, he didn't know about? What if she hadn't been allowed to contact him until he learned about the wizarding world? And how will she approach him once they meet? Meet Marina Callisto Black. (I suck at summaries! Longer one in introduction!) (M-Rating to be safe...)
1. Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER:

Okay, so obviously all rights to Harry Potter (books and movies) and the plot belong to their rightful owners [thanks, J.K. ;-) ]

Anything that rings a bell, anything you recognize – it's from the books! And yes, there are some very obvious passages that I copied straight out of the novels.

This is for fun only! I do not make any profit. No copying, please. Thx.

Info:

So, I feel that I should warn you: there is a load of OCs. If anyone doesn't like that, don't read it! The story will be written from my OC's POV with some passages from Harry's POV thrown in.

I follow the general plot and occurrences of the books, HOWEVER due to my OCs and their interaction with J.K.'s characters, there are some changes.

Harry's first two years, I sort of... hurry through. The real fun starts in Harry's 3rd year (I'm sure you can guess why...)

I really hope you'll like it. Feel free to leave reviews, pls. (Btw., I can handle criticism.)

* * *

So now the longer summary: (paradox alert!)

What if Harry had family... sort of? What if he had a sibling-type person that until he attended Hogwarts he didn't know about? What if she hadn't been allowed to contact him until he learned about the wizarding world? And how will she approach him once they meet?

Her name was Marina Black. Ten years ago her mother had died alongside James and Lily Potter, murdered by a coward people were _still_ afraid of. She'd been all of three years old but she remembered the horror of that Halloween night. She remembered her father's anguish over losing his best friend. And she also remembered little Harry. Ten long years she'd been forbidden to see him " _for his own good_ ". Ten years he'd stayed in the dark. How is she ever going to make it right? Raised by a witch and a wizard, she knows more than him. Can she answer his questions? And will she ever get someone to tell her what happened to her father?

Together with their friends, can her honorary little brother and she put a stop to the darkness before it rises again?


	2. Author's Note!

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry, I need to add something.

I need to give you a heads-up and correct my intro:

Once I started writing, some things changed in my original draft (since I am proofreading them myself).

You'll see I've decided to skip Harry's second year, and logically Marina's fourth, completely after chapter 9 and take back up a year, namely the summer of 1993.

This is where I tell you that I won't keep all the canon pairings...

Also, I should correct the statement about where the material that IS NOT MINE is coming from:

Harry Potter book series

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (book)

Harry Potter movie series

Pottermore

Fan-Wiki: wiki/Main_Page (browsing took some time)

Just so we're clear, since I almost ran into trouble once.

In the later chapters, which is "my" story, I will be mentioning a lot of canon characters ( some of them pretty soon, others later on) and my OCs a lot more – and I don't do introduction repetition like J.K. in the books, so to (maybe) make reading easier and more fun, here a list of characters (sorted by age):

* * *

Luna Lovegood: b. February 13th 1981

Ginevra Molly Weasley: b. August 11th 1981

Tyler Kale Nott: b. March 2nd 1981

Astoria Greengrass: b. September 9th 1981

* * *

Susan Bones b. February 15th 1980

Ron Bilius Weasley: b. March 1st 1980

Theodore Nott b. April 20th 1980

Draco Malfoy: b. June 5th 1980

Neville Longbottom: b. July 30th 1980

Harry James Potter: b. July 31st 1980

Hannah Abbott: b. August 23rd 1980

Hermione Jean Granger: b. September 19th 1979

Daphne Greengrass: b. December 2nd 1979

* * *

Katie Bell: b. January 19th 1979

Samantha Price: b. March 3rd 1979

Rolf Scamander: b. April 11th 1979

* * *

Elvira Rookwood: b. January 29th 1978

Lee Jordan: b. February 12th 1978

Fred Weasley: b. April 1st 1978

George Weasley: b. April 1st 1978

Jolene Wood: May 5th 1978

Patricia Stimpson: b. May 17th 1978

Carmen Aurora Nott: b. June 7th 1978

Marina Callisto Black : b. July 6th 1978

Fleur Delacour: b. September 29th 1977 → Beauxbatons (French School)

Angelina Johnson: b. October 24th 1977

* * *

Viktor Krum: b. July 2nd 19766 - Durmstrang (Scandinavian School)

Percy Weasley : b. August 22nd 1976

Penelope Clearwater: b. August 30th 1976

* * *

Irina Talinov: b. 1973 → Koldovstoretz (Russian School)

Nymphadora Tonks: b. August 7th 1973

Michael Nott b. October 1972 (d.)

Elias Orion Whitmore: b. October 4th 1972

David Jupiter Nott: b. November 19th 1972

Charlie Weasley: b. December 12th 1972

* * *

Bianca Io Nott : b. September 14th 1970

William "Bill" Weasley: b. November 29th 1970

Talib Okoro: b. 1969 → Uagadou (African School)

* * *

Severus Snape: b. January 9th 1960

Lily Potter: b. January 30th 1960 (d)

Hestia Jones: b. February 17th 1960

James Potter: b. March 27th 1960 (d)

Remus Lupin: b. March 10th 1960

Violet Abbott: b. June 1960 (d)

Peter Pettigrew: b. August 31st 1960

Sirius Black: b. November 3rd 1959

Rose Herondale: b. December 18th 1959 (d)

* * *

Elisabeth Bones b. March 1958 (d)

Alice Longbottom: b. January 18th 1957

Kingsley Shacklebolt: b. April 1957

Jonathan Abbott: b. May 1957

Robert Bones b. August 1957 (d)

Frank Longbottom: b. September 1st 1957

* * *

Katherine Granger b. October 1956

Richard Granger b. May 1955

Narcissa Malfoy: b. December 1955

* * *

Isobel Whitmore: b. January 16th 1953

Bellatrix Lestrange: b. May 1953

Lucius Malfoy: b. September 1953

Pallas Whitmore: b. August 10th 1952

Andromeda Tonks: b. March 1951

Katherine Nott b. June 1951 (d)

Arthur Weasley: b. February 6th 1950

Jupiter Nott: b. February 28th 1950

Laura Nott: b. May 1st 1950

Theodore "Ted" Tonks: b. August 1950

Molly Weasley: b. October 30th 1950

Rodolphus Lestrange: b. November 1950

Benjamin Nott: b. December 1948

* * *

Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody: b. June 1947

Minerva McGonagall: b. August 1935

Tom Riddle/Voldemort: b. December 31st 1926

Albus Dumbledore: b. April 1881

* * *

Yes, that should be everyone. And, again, almost all of this does not belong to me. And to the creators of the mentioned sources above, I apologise if I misquoted.

Okay then: chapter coming soon.

Thx!


	3. Epilogue

" _... and now to the breaking news: according to our sources in Diagon Alley, the Boy Who Lived will be returning to our world this year. Joining the ranks of Hogwarts students, Harry Potter will finally be seen for the first time since his defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in October 1981. Both the Headmaster and Minister Fudge have been unavailable for comment."_

Marina sighed and tossed the paper far away from her. The _Daily_ _Prophet_ was certainly milking Harry's impending return already. No one stopped to think what the truth would do to him. According to Aunt Dromeda, Harry had been raised by muggles thus far and had no idea he was a wizard. He didn't know his parents had been murdered. He most certainly didn't remember Marina – and how should he? Harry had been but a year old when it had happened. She herself had only been three – and she desperately wished she wouldn't be able to remember. Her kneazle-cat, Starlight, let out a meow and dragged the paper back over to her. Apparently, Dromeda's advice to read it all before they went to Diagon Alley still rang in her cat's ears as well. Marina lifted the cat and paper in one and deposited Starlight on her lap, resigned to the inevitable.

" _The Wizarding World in general wonders how their formerly infant hero will adapt. Also, a constant subject of gossip is whether or not the Girl Who Saw-_ ," Marina winced at her new moniker, " _-will approach the boy._

 _For those who have been living under dragon hide the past ten years, let me summarise: Marina Callisto Black was born on 6_ _th_ _of July 1978 to Rose Herondale. Harry James Potter was born on 30_ _th_ _of July 1980 to James and Lily Potter. For reasons still unknown, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named decided to hunt the Potters; perhaps it was related to their continued stance against him. Due to the obvious threat, the Potters went into hiding with their infant. Herondale, having been a close friend, went with them as the Potters suspected the Dark Lord might target her to get to them._

 _On that fateful night, Halloween of 1981, the Potters' location was revealed to the Dark Lord and he descended upon their safe-house. Reportedly, James Potter valiantly attempted to fight him off to give his wife and their friend time to escape with their children. Alas, he was defeated by the Dark Wizard and fell. Lily Potter and Rose Herondale died, trying to defend their children. Then the Dark Lord tried to kill little Harry – but the Curse backfired and destroyed the caster himself. The Boy Who Lived effectively saved us all._

 _According to sources in St. Mungo's, Marina Black clearly remembers the events of that night and, on insistence of her guardian Andromeda Tonks (née Black), is still receiving regular treatment from mind healers. Now that she is about to face her childhood friend once again, the question is: how will she fare?_ "

Bugger. No wonder Dromeda had wanted her to read it in advance. Hogwarts was going to be a bloody circus this year.

"They're going to tear him to pieces," she muttered in disgust. If Dromeda was right and Harry had no idea who he was to their world... he was in for a rude awakening. What had the adults been thinking, leaving him with muggles? Lily's family or not, there was no way they could have been providing for him the way a young wizard would have needed it.

"By Merlin, I'm starting to sound like Dromeda."

"Perish the thought," a cheerful voice sounded from the doorway. Marina looked up and snorted a laugh.

The young woman in front of her was Dromeda's daughter and Marina's second cousin. She was five years older than herself and had therefore finished Hogwarts with the last school year. She'd subsequently joined the Auror Office for training. Which was why Marina was laughing. Nymphadora – she insisted on people calling her Tonks and who could blame her – was a metamorphmagus. Basically that meant she could change her appearance in any way she liked: hair colour, eye colour, skin tone, a completely different face; even another gender. Different to most witches and wizards, she didn't need spells for it, just focus. Her natural form shared her mother's brown hair and eyes – but Dora was just too quirky for that. She'd settled her features into a relatively permanent base form that resembled her paternal line more than her maternal one; Dromeda understood since the rest of the family was insane and evil. But Dora wasn't content looking normal; hence her bright blue eyes – and purple hair.

You just didn't look like that when you wanted to be an auror. And especially not if your instructor was the best auror the wizarding world had seen in a very long time.

"Are you trying to give Mad-Eye an aneurysm?" she giggled and tossed the paper again. Dora had been surprisingly accommodating when her parents had taken Marina in; that wasn't a given with a surly eight-year old. But the older girl had taken a liking to Marina.

"Alastor could use someone to ruffle his feathers," Dora shrugged.

"Yeah... people who do that usually end up dead," Marina said dryly. She wasn't kidding either. An auror's job was to hunt dark wizards. Mad-Eye Moody was the best for a reason. He was also somewhat of a constant in Marina's life.

After Marina's mother had been murdered by the evil bastard, she refused to call him _You-Know-Who_ and whenever she said his name people blanched, there had been a bit of a custody problem. The Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, had decided for Harry and no one had argued since he was undoubtedly the greatest wizard of their time. Marina had been a bit of an issue: her mother had named one of her closest friends, who also happened to be one of the Potters' closest friends, as Marina's godfather. He would have been honoured to oblige too – but the werewolf laws prohibited a wolf from taking custody of a child that was not his own. It was complete and utter rubbish in her opinion. But law was law so Dumbledore had suggested that her only remaining family, that wasn't evil, take her in. And because cousin Andromeda and her husband Ted were all that was good and gracious in this world, they'd not only taken her in, but allowed her to spend every other week with her mother's choice of godparent. When Remus was in the country, that was; the law didn't make it easy for a wolf to find work either.

And because Mad-Eye felt responsible for the screw-up that had cost her her parents for some reason, he'd constantly stopped by as well. The old grouch was a paranoid, grumpy bastard; but he'd shown remarkable patience when he'd taught her some self-defence spells. That was the reason she got away with calling him Mad-Eye; she was pretty sure he'd jinx any other teenager who would dare try. And he was Dora's mentor.

"He'll get over it," Dora said cheerfully.

"Dora," Marina sighed and fixed her bubbly cousin with a stare. "I get away with it because I'm me and Mad-Eye feels responsible for Mum for some weird reason. But you're his trainee on top of things. Do yourself a favour and don't test Moody; he has his reputation for a reason."

"How did you ever become so sensible?" Dora grouched. "At thirteen?"

Marina didn't respond. Witnessing her mother's and Lily's deaths had a lot to with it. She might only have been three years old but she still remembered the fear in the women's voices and even in James'. She remembered the loud thud as Harry's father fell victim to their enemy, Lily's moan of grief even as she tried to save her son. She remembered the snarl of the cold, emotionless voice ordering the women to stand aside and let him kill Harry, Lily pleading for the toddler's life... She remembered the blinding flash of green light, which she know knew had been the Killing Curse, as it struck Lily. She could still hear Harry crying. And she remembered her mother's last words to her. Her last words on this earth.

 _Be strong for your father, Marina. Be strong for Harry._


	4. Diagon Alley

It was amazing, Marina thought, just how many people had no common sense. She'd been to Diagon Alley all of ten seconds when people had started pointing at her and whispering. Dromeda had shot down the first witch with gossipy questions with the glare of death, but the rest didn't seem to learn from the woman's mistake. She wondered just how much trouble she'd get into if she sent the reporter who'd come up with her new moniker a jinxed howler.

"Cheer up," Ted told her merrily. "Look ahead." Her honorary uncle was a muggle-born wizard and was therefore as used to the stares and gossip as she was. That he'd married a witch from a pure-blood family that prided itself on that very fact didn't help his case. Marina would never understand the House of Black in that regard. She did as Ted suggested and started grinning immediately.

In front of Gringotts, the wizard bank, stood a family. They were friends with the Tonks due to the fact that the rest of their own family was also made of pure-blood fanatics. Jupiter Nott had married Laura Abbott, much to his older brother Benjamin's dismay. In itself it wouldn't have been a big deal since the Abbotts were pretty much pure-bloods themselves, but Jupiter and Laura were muggle sympathizers; Jupiter's family considered him a blood traitor. Of course the stigma extended to the couple's children: Bianca was the oldest, born in 1970, and an apprentice in arithmancy – she wanted to teach someday. Next was David, born in 1972, he'd finished school and was currently one year ahead of Dora in his auror training. Tyler was the youngest, born in 1982, and was very grouchy about not being allowed in Hogwarts yet. Then there was Carmen, born in 1978, and Marina's best friend. They were in the same year in Hogwarts, but Carmen was a Ravenclaw; she was wearing her blue and bronze house shawl. It had been a close call between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor – her parents houses. Apparently Carmen's intelligence outweighed her courage. With Marina it was the reverse, which was why she was wearing her red-gold Gryffindor gloves.

She started running at the same time as Carmen and they met halfway, hugging like they hadn't seen each other in ages when it had in fact only been a week. Ty shook his head in disgust, Bianca smiled understandingly and David... he always looked as if his world had been knocked off its apex when she was around.

The girls let go of each other. In the muggle world, Carmen would probably have been labelled a Latina, what with her light olive tan and mahogany hair. In contrast, she had sky-blue eyes. Marina was the exact opposite: cream tan, blonde hair and sea-green eyes.

"You got your list too?" Carmen asked, not even mentioning the article. That was one of the many reasons she was her best friend.

"Yes. Along with a P.S.," she replied, referring to the Hogsmeade permission slip, and pulled out this year's Hogwarts letter; they compared the new supply list.

* * *

 _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3 (Miranda Goshawk)_

 _Unfogging the Future (Cassandra Vablatsky)_

 _Intermediate Transfiguration (Emeric Switch)_

 _The Monster Book of Monsters (Edwardus Lima)_

 _Numerology and Grammatica (M. Carneiro & L. Wakefield)_

 _Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles (W. Wigworthy)_

 _Spellman's Syllabary (Rosana Amorim)_

 _The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts (Arsenius Jigger)_

* * *

"Divination?" Carmen asked incredulously, at the same time as Marina questioned, "Arithmancy?"

Her friend really shouldn't have been so surprised that she'd opted for Divination. Everybody who knew her also knew that she had a knack for Cartomancy – reading tarot cards. On the other hand, she was absolute rubbish at Palmistry – reading palms. The subject was only required for very few careers in their world, so she wasn't too worried. Passing was all that mattered on this one, not necessarily the grade.

"I love subjects that make sense," Carmen commented her own surprise dryly. And with Bianca for a big sister, it made sense she'd chosen Arithmancy.

"You're actually taking Muggle Studies?" Marina asked bemused. "All you have to do is ask Ted."

"They like people with the O.W.L. at St. Mungos," Carmen shrugged. The brunette wanted to become a healer; meanwhile Marina already knew she wanted to make up for her extended family's numerous sins and become an auror. Nobody should have to suffer like she, and Harry, and so many other had. So choosing a career to stop them all once and for all was a given..

After getting their money, they parted ways. Bianca volunteered to go with the girls, while the adults dragged poor Ty wherever it was they had to go. David said good-bye to meet with his best friend for some time off before their next shift. Like every year, _Flourish & Blotts_ was crowded. Sometimes she wondered if the owners had put an extension charm on the place for so many people to fit in. There were a few young ones around that told Marina that the first-years had received their letters. Merlin, she remembered that feeling. She'd known she was a witch of course, it was impossible to live with Dora and not know the family was different, but that hadn't been a guarantee she'd get into Hogwarts. So when the letter had come, Ted and Dromeda had organised a small celebration – and proceeded to buy her Starlight.

"Hard to imagine we were that small and intimidated once," Carmen commented as one of the kids all but hid behind her parents when one of the sales people approached.

"Not really," she shook her head. "Just wait until Ty gets his letter." They proceeded to buy their books, with some additions for their private collections, and then filled their supplies of quills, ink, parchment and vials for Potions.

And then, naturally, Carmen dragged her to _Quidditch Quality Supplies_ to buy a new broomstick. Her family had collected money like maniacs for a year and given it to her on her birthday – they knew she wanted on her house team. Marina knew her friend had already put a large chunk of that money into her vault at Gringotts – the Notts were by no means poor but they weren't rich either and Carmen didn't want to burden her parents later on. So when she bought herself a _Nimbus 1700_ instead of waiting for the new model that would hit the market next week, Marina wasn't at all surprised. She then dragged the sisters to _Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment_ and bought herself a new set of tarot cards, seeing as hers were just about finished.

The fitting for their new robes at _Madame Malkin's_ took all of five minutes and they were summoned in even less time. Magic was a wonderful thing. After that they sat down at _Fortescue's_ and ordered ice cream. It was typical that they were first, seeing as the adults knew just about everyone and everybody knew them. They had to stop to chat a lot. Poor Ty. All things considered it had been a good day.

She should have known someone would try to mess it up.

Benjamin Nott, the sisters' uncle, and his son Theodore materialised in front of them out of nowhere. If she hadn't known better she'd say they had apparated. Benjamin was a pure-blood fanatic through and through and appeared to have no love for muggles. In fact, he'd been a follower of the monster that had killed her mother; the Ministry had never been able to prove it so he'd walked away unscathed.

"Well, if it isn't the blood traitor convention," he said smoothly but with a certain bite to his words. Dromeda was no better than his brother in his eyes, as she had married a muggle born. That was why her parents had disowned her after all. As she was her ward, he painted her with the same brush as her.

"Don't you have anything better to do, Ben?" Bianca drawled, bored.

"Yes, it sure looks like Theo needs to buy some things," Carmen added, taking in her cousin's state of dress. He was still in muggle clothes – how Benjamin justified that one, she was curious. The three of them were all dressed in casual robes.

"You stay away from my son in Hogwarts," Benjamin warned. Marina couldn't help it and snorted.

"If you raised him in your image, Mr. Nott, I can't think of a single reason why I'd want his company," she told him seriously. His eyes narrowed; in that respect, he reminded her of Lucius Malfoy. Dear Merlin, she and her friends were related to quite a bunch of fools.

"Benjamin," a stern voice suddenly sounded and the sisters grinned at their father's entrance. He was alone, which was a good thing considering Laura really hated these confrontations with his family. The elder Nott didn't acknowledge his brother by using his name. He turned with blank mask on his face.

Sometimes she wondered why people insisted on being stupid. Marina had been born with natural empathy, the ability to sense others emotions like they were her own. It was a lesser version of legilimency, the ability to read minds. Mostly though, it was a pain in the arse. But she knew for a fact that Benjamin didn't hate his brother any more than Jupiter hated him. They had a fundamental difference of opinion, or morals really, and had parted ways over it. But they were brothers and still loved each other, despite the elder one's icy demeanour. She was fairly sure that if it hadn't been for his Lord and Master, he wouldn't even have disowned Jupiter all those years ago. Of course, his puppeteer had been gone for twelve years now and he was still acting a fool. Then again, Narcissa Malfoy hadn't reached out to reconcile with her sister either; not that Dromeda had done any such thing. It literally hurt to sense their love for each other and witness their foolishness. But the dark brand on Benjamin's arm hadn't disappeared with his master's fall.

"Take your leave, Ben," Jupiter said calmly, quietly. "Stay away from my children."

"You have lost the right to speak to me so freely a long time ago," Benjamin stated, his voice colder than ice. Pain laced both their insides and Marina swallowed at sensing it.

"You've had this argument a hundred times over," Carmen sighed exasperated. "Why rehash it _again_?"

"Because your uncle is still hoping your father will come around," Marina answered quietly. "And vice versa."

Carmen and Bianca winced. It was highly unlikely that either brother would ever relent. They were stubborn as mules and both believed to be right; of course the younger Nott actually _was_ right.

"Marina, I'm sorry," Jupiter said, suitably chagrined. "I forgot."

"It's okay," she shrugged. "I'm used to it by now."

Theodore seemed appropriately confused but his father was not. Marina got the distinct impression he knew about her innate ability. Apparently, someone at school didn't know how to keep their mouths shut. Big surprise.

"It's bad enough this is your reality, Mr. Nott," she said in earnest. "Do you really have to make it worse on both of you?" There was a flicker of pain in his eyes that supported all her assumptions. She was so tempted to meddle and get them to at least try and reconcile, since Benjamin didn't feel inherently evil like for instance McNair, but she didn't think either one of the brothers would appreciate her sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

"She has a point, Dad," said Theodore suddenly, sounding every one of his eleven years young. The frown on his face reflected how worried he was about his father's state of mind.

"Don't ever admit to anyone in Slytherin that you agreed with a Gryffindor," she advised him. "They'd make your life hell."

"I'm surprised at your civility," Benjamin cut in. Marina very slowly turned back to look at him.

"Because your Lord and Master murdered my mother, you mean?" Both of them flinched at her calm accusation.

"There is one good thing about the empathy: I always know what to expect. And you, Benjamin Nott, are not a cold-blooded killer, in spite of what you wanted your Death Eater friends to believe."

The entire family Nott present gaped at her; she wasn't aware her voice had changed into airy mumble – her mark of Seeing.

" _The Dark Mark branded onto your skin is not a sign of loyalty, but one of slavery_ ," she continued, oblivious to the worried looks her friends were exchanging. " _The time will come when once again you will have to choose. To stand with the one who shattered your soul, or to side with those who would seek to heal it_."

Marina blinked rapidly. Everyone was looking at her oddly.

"What?"

"You just had a premonition or something," Bianca explained with a healthy dose of awe in her voice. Marina groaned.

"So what did I say this time?"

"Basically that my uncle could still redeem himself," Carmen noted.

"I don't need the Sight to know that," she snorted. "My empathy's enough for that. No Death Eater that truly believes feels the way he does."

"I'm still present," Benjamin remarked dryly.

"Marina doesn't _see_ often but what she sees has always been true so far," Jupiter remarked and never took his eyes off his brother. The hope that had risen in him choked Marina's throat. Merlin, they must have been close in their youth for him to hope like that.

"I will think on what was said," Benjamin said and sounded remarkably like the politician he was. He turned on his heels and walked away, one hand on his son's shoulder. Young Theo might be the key to his father's salvation, whether he knew it or not. Then again, what did she know. She didn't even remember what she'd seen.

"Your mother and Andromeda are at the _Magical Menagerie_ ," Jupiter told the three of them as if nothing had happened. "Ted took Tyler to _Broomstix_." It was a cheaper shop than _Quality Supplies_ , so it would be the perfect place to get Ty's first broomstick, as she knew Ted had promised. And Marina was the only one with a pet in the house so she figured Dromeda was buying supplies for Starlight.

"Let's go to _Sugarplum's_ and stock up. Then we can have a three on three Quidditch match before calling it a day," Jupiter suggested. Everyone was game so they hustled to find the others. Marina was lucky to have them all.


	5. First Impressions

" _Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_  
 _But don't judge on what you see,_  
 _I'll eat myself if you can find_  
 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_  
 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_  
 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_  
 _So try me on and I will tell you_  
 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_  
 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_  
 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_  
 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,_  
 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_  
 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
if you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_  
 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,_  
 _Those cunning folks use any means_  
 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
 _And don't get in a flap!_  
 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_  
 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!_ _"_

"They look so scared," Fred whispered to his brother and George chuckled quietly in response. The Weasley twins were a force to be reckoned with and notorious trouble makers. But they were also her friends so Marina settled for smacking them upside their heads instead of jinxing them.

"Hey!" George protested grumpily. Their older brother, Percy, had been named Prefect this year but he didn't comment. He knew Marina would have a good reason.

"Your little brother is in that line," she whispered unimpressed. The twins had three older brothers – Bill, Charlie and Percy –, one younger brother and a little sister. Naturally, sibling rivalry ensued.

Hannah Abbott was called up and McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head – poor girl looked terrified. It didn't take the hat long to make her a Hufflepuff. Susan Bones soon skipped over to the same table – Marina saw the girls hug happily. Lavender Brown then became the first Gryffindor; she covered her ears at the twins' whistling. Watching the first-years was always a tedious exercise. Marina wasn't at all surprised when Draco Malfoy, her second cousin, followed the family tradition and was sorted into Slytherin; the kid looked impossibly smug.

The girl named Hermione Granger reminded her of Carmen at their own Sorting Ceremony: a bundle of nerves and mumbling to herself. Hermione needn't have worried; the hat didn't stay on her unruly, brown hair for long before declaring her a Gryffindor. Her grin almost split her face.

Another handful of students later, the time had come.

"Harry Potter!" McGonagall called out and the entire Great Hall descended into stunned silence and exited whispers. The rumours had spread already, of course, but now they had prove that the Boy Who Lived was here.

Harry pushed his way through the remaining first-years and walked up to the chair.

 _Dear Merlin, he's a miniature James_ , Marina thought to herself. He shared his father's raven black hair that just wouldn't stay down; she was willing to bet he'd given up on combing quite some time ago. Harry wore round glasses that resembled the ones James had worn in school uncannily.

Marina fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat as the thought struck her if Harry even knew how James had looked like. Hagrid's owl – she'd badgered him into promising he'd send her an update once he met Harry – had left her worried. Her trepidation had proved true: he hadn't had a clue who he was to their world so Hagrid, of all people, had been forced to explain. Apparently, Lily's muggle family hated magic so they had never told Harry he was a wizard. Their resentment extended to the boy himself; he had only ever received his cousin's second-hand clothes, he'd never in his life been given a birthday or Christmas present and his aunt and uncle had made it abundantly clear that they'd never wanted him. Marina once again thanked Merlin that she'd ended up with Dromeda and Ted.

Also, Harry didn't know anything about his parents. Up until Hagrid had enlightened him, he'd believed they'd died in a car accident, for heaven's sake. James and Lily had never driven a car in their life. Well, maybe Lily before she'd gotten her letter.

Marina snapped herself out of her musings and focused back on Harry. He looked just as worried as everyone else before him had. She noticed that Dumbledore straightened in his seat, truly focused for the first time since the Sorting had started.

The hat took its time. Harry was holding onto the chair with a death grip, his knuckled turned white. Good grief, he was worried.

An image flashed through her head: Harry on a broomstick, dressed in scarlet and gold, flying across the Quidditch pitch.

For a moment she wondered if it had been one of the memories she'd seen of James but the slight dizzy feeling she suddenly had told her she'd had a tiny vision.

"Not a word to Harry about me," she announced to the Gryffindor table and everyone turned to look at her in question. The older students, including the Weasleys to her shock, nodded once in understanding. The younger ones seemed confused but obliged too. Just as Percy was about to ask why she'd demanded their silence, the Sorting Hat opened and the cleft announced,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Even as Harry sagged in relief, Hermione looked at her in astonishment, asking a dozen questions in lightning speed as to how she'd known Harry would join them. Marina shrugged, in no mood to explain, and applauded right along with everyone else. Her honorary brother, as she'd titled him in her head, received the biggest applause yet. Not that he noticed.

Harry made his way to their table as fast as he could, eyes downcast, and only looked up to shake everyone's hands as the Weasley twins cheered " _We got Potter!_ " over and over again.

Marina sat opposite Percy, so when Harry slid onto the bench next to the redhead, his eyes fell onto her. She had to swallow a frog-sized lump in her throat. Everything about him was a mini-version of James, except those eyes; they were Lily's vibrant forest green.

"Welcome to Gryffindor," she greeted him calmly in comparison and Harry was the one to reach out and shake her hand. He seemed a bit confused as he kept looking at her.

"Have we met before?" he burst out suddenly. His cheeks reddened a little, but he proved to be in the right house already, not dropping his gaze from hers. She sighed inwardly.

"A long time ago," she confirmed and prayed he would leave it at that, at least for now. Harry wasn't stupid though: he knew they couldn't have met while he'd been with his relatives and that only left the year with his parents. Curiosity shone brightly in his eyes but he just nodded and focused back on the front of the Great Hall.

The youngest Weasley to date was pronounced a Gryffindor as well, much to his obvious relief, and sat down opposite Harry. That only left one student, Zabini, and he joined Slytherin.

Angelina, Alicia and Katie, the three girls on the house Quidditch team, roped her into a discussion about just how hard Transfiguration and Charms would be this year. Marina herself was more worried about Potions. It was common knowledge that Snape favoured his own house, Slytherin, above all others and there was no equal to his hatred of all things Gryffindor. But maybe, she thought in concern, that had changed today: she didn't like the look Snape was shooting Harry _at all_.

* * *

 _ **2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **week of school...**_

"Black!" McGonagall called her. Transfiguration had been a pain and she had Potions after lunch. The only upside was that this year, the third-year Gryffindors had to suffer through Snape's torture with the Ravenclaws, meaning she would have her best friend with her.

"Good work today," her Head of House commented and Marina huffed a little.

"It's taken me a week to get it right. I've never needed that long for a Transfiguration Spell before." Charms on the other hand had always been a problem. Once she mastered a spell, it was powerful without fault but _until_ she figured it out... disaster.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. That's what I'm here for."

"Comforting," Marina said, deadpan. "Did you need something, Professor?"

"It's about Harry," McGonagall admitted and erected a privacy shield. Merlin, Marina wished she could master that charm already. It would keep all the eavesdroppers at bay.

"He's having some difficulty with Transfiguration and I do not believe it's a lack of power or talent. Merely a lack of focus," her professor explained. Marina snorted quietly.

"Can you blame him? With all the Boy Who Lived nonsense, it's a miracle they don't expect him to conjure a mansion out of thin air."

"Indeed," McGonagall agreed easily and her suspicion rose. "That is why I would like you to tutor Mr. Potter a bit, if you would. With your talent for my subject, I am certain he can overcome whatever it is that's holding him back."

Marina stared. This was the sneakiest thing she had seen anyone do up to now, because it was a valid excuse her professor was using.

"Why is everyone pushing me to talk to him?" she grouched regardless, for once sounding the moody teenager she was supposed to be. Dromeda would be thrilled and mortified all at the same time. So far Marina had done a stellar job of avoiding Harry; it was made easy by the fact that he wasn't really looking for her.

"I can't speak for others-," McGonagall said, "-but I believe you both need it."

Well, Merlin knew she _wanted_ to talk to him. But what was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to explain how she knew so much about his parents when he knew next to nothing? And just how the _bloody hell_ was she supposed to explain why she'd never come see him? She didn't want him mad at Dumbledore for leaving him there. She didn't want him mad at Dromeda and Ted either.

Then again, she was ahead of herself. Who was to say he'd get mad. Maybe Harry wouldn't care – wouldn't _like_ her.

She was honest enough to admit that it was the crux of the problem. After all these years wondering about him, even missing his (admittedly infant) smile, Marina didn't think she could handle it if it turned out that he couldn't stand her.

"I just appointed Mr. Potter as Seeker," McGonagall mentioned. It wasn't as much of a non sequitur as one might think. Instant pride welled up in her chest, thinking James would have been thrilled. And then she realised Harry probably didn't know that either.

McGonagall was watching her with knowing eyes. Marina sighed her surrender.

"Alright. I'll catch him later in the Common Room."

* * *

 **Harry POV**

It was pretty late and the Common Room wasn't as crowded as usual. Ron was off to get some advice from the twins – his friend would never go to Percy and after a look at the Prefect's face, Harry agreed. Percy was too... well, too Percy to ask for help.

In the meantime, he was sitting in a corner by himself, staring at a match and trying to figure out how to turn it into a needle. Hermione, of course, had done it at the end of last week. He wasn't the only one who hadn't done it yet, not at all, but he _wanted_ to get it right.

"Don't try to force it."

Harry looked up from the uncooperative match.

It was the girl he'd seen at the Sorting Ceremony. She was two years older than him, in Fred and George's class, but so small you wouldn't know it from afar. She had blonde hair that looked slightly frizzly and sea-green eyes that looked oddly familiar. He couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her somehow. Also, the look _in_ her eyes was definitely familiar; like she'd never been truly happy a day in her life either. Harry saw that look in the mirror everyday.

"Marina Black," she introduced herself, probably knowing that he'd already asked around about her, and sat down with her wand in hand.

"Don't think about it so much. A lot of magic comes from emotion. Your wand can sense it when you're nervous. Holly?"

"And phoenix feather," he nodded and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, then it definitely senses your nerves. Just stop driving yourself round the bend."

She almost casually pointed her wand at the match, only whispering the spell, and it immediately turned into a needle.

Harry noticed the Weasley twins frown at Marina behind her back. They looked almost as disgusted as they did when looking at Malfoy.

"You a pure-blood?" he asked before he could stop himself. She looked at him sharply, before pointing her wand and mumbling the reversal spell, making the needle a match again.

"Yes...ish. Mum was a muggle-born. Why?"

"The twins..." To his surprise, Marina grinned.

"I beat them at their own game for a change. They're sulking."

"Did you say your mum _was_ muggle-born?" he asked, catching on rather slowly. Her smile died.

"Yes. She died in the war. She wouldn't just sit by and do nothing – as if Voldemort wouldn't have ordered her dead already, for being a muggle-born. What?" she added when she noticed his wide eyes.

"I thought you don't say his name"

Marina harrumphed, unimpressed.

"I will _not_ be scared of a bl... ruddy _name_ ," she grouched, sounding as if she'd had that argument before.

"That murderous coward cost me my parents," she kept going. "I'll be darned if he takes anything else."

Now Harry understood the look in her eyes. Marina was an orphan too.

"So who raised you?" he asked curiously. She grinned again.

"My cousin, once removed. But I call her Aunt. She and her husband took me in. But it was a group effort, really. My godfather was denied custody due to... some messed up circumstances back then. But he drops in every other week or I go to visit. They are the best thing that could have happened to me, given the situation."

Marina hesitated for a moment. If Harry didn't know any better, he'd say she was doing what he did most of the time these days: rallying all his Gryffindor courage before saying or doing something.

"You know... my godfather knew your parents pretty well. He asked me to keep an eye on you," she admitted, obviously worried how he'd take that bit of news.

"That's okay," he smiled, secretly thrilled that someone cared enough.

Maybe she thought he didn't know but he'd noticed her watching him this past week. He'd also been told by the twins, who'd sworn him to secrecy, that she had jinxed an older student who had wanted to ask him some uncomfortable questions; like whether he remembered Voldemort. No one had approached him. Fred had been pretty confident that no one would with one of the best witches around watching his back.

"Any tips on how to survive Snape?" he asked, partially to lighten the mood, but also serious. Marina snorted.

"Never talk back, swallow all smart-arse comments and take his ludicrous punishments in stride. There really is no winning with Snape. Just focus on studying Potions so he can't fail you. My best friend is pretty darn good and she's offering to tutor any first and second-years who need it."

"At this rate, I might just keep that in mind. Now about that match..."


	6. Hallowe'en

" _Dear Marina,_

 _I hope you've had a good year so far. I'm sorry for not writing sooner but I was in France – as you might imagine, looking for work. Andromeda and Ted already gave me an update; I've sent the signed permission sheet directly to Albus. Just promise you won't get into as much trouble in Hogsmeade as I used to do._

 _So you've met Harry. I could tell from your letter that you don't know what to do about it. I won't be of much help, I'm afraid. If I was there, I would tell him all the stories myself, but now it seems that falls on you._

 _But, sweetheart, what you tell him is up to you. I know you think you owe him the truth. Well, the truth is that Rose left her journals to you. Everything that's in them is yours. Now, if you decide you want to share some of that with Harry, you know you won't get any protest from me._

 _Give Carmen my best._

 _Cheers,_

 _Remus_

 _P.S.: Just keep in mind that sometimes the truth only leaves more questions than answers. And you will be the one he'll ask._ "

"Well, that's remarkably unhelpful," Marina harrumphed and handed the letter to Carmen, who was standing behind her. Her friend's eagle-owl, Iris, had just delivered it and she fed the bird some bacon as reward. Merlin knew where Remus had been when her letter had found him.

"It's classic Remus," Carmen agreed. "He'd make a great teacher, you know. Letting you learn from your decisions."

"You sound like him," Marina stated dryly, stabbing her breakfast. "And usually I'm on board because it also means he lets me _make_ my own decisions. This time I really didn't want to decide."

Carmen put a hand on her shoulder, coaxing Iris onto her arm with the other, and squeezed lightly.

"Just tell him whatever you think he can handle."

"He shouldn't have to handle any of it," Marina said through clenched teeth. "And is it just me, or is it very odd that neither Dumbledore nor anyone else seems to notice that he's way too thin. Too small. Too insecure."

She didn't like her conclusion whatsoever. But all signs pointed toward abuse. Dromeda had made it very clear in her last letter that Marina was not to interfere with the headmaster's decisions who had obviously deemed the muggles appropriate. It was the first time she'd wanted to jinx her aunt, even from afar. She was sure Dumbledore had his reasons, probably very good ones, but she was still angry. The way Harry was acting was very much like the way she'd been acting, according to Ted, after the Tonks had taken her in: afraid that the slightest misstep would get her sent away. Her uncle hadn't been able to explain how a three-year old could possibly be that aware but he swore up and down that she had done it.

So naturally, the more she found out about the Dursleys, the more she wanted to hex them to hell.

"He's getting better," Carmen tried to comfort her. "Hogwarts is good for him."

"Hogwarts is good for everyone," Marina clarified but smiled. The subject of their conversation had just entered the Great Hall, Ron Weasley in tow and appropriately awed by the still unfinished Hallowe'en decorations. The first feasts were always impressive.

Harry spotted his team-mates across from Marina and moved to sit next to them. The three Chasers, who had politely pretended to be deaf while she'd vented her frustration, broke out into big smiles.

"I see he's made an impression," she commented dryly. It was the same everywhere; the Gryffindor common room, the Quidditch team... she had even overheard some teachers sing his praises. Wherever he went, Harry had an impact.

"You should see him fly," Angelina told her excitedly. "He's amazing."

"He could've given Charlie a run for his money," the twins nodded their agreement. That was indeed high praise, coming from the brothers of the Hogwarts legend. Charlie's records were still unbeaten.

"I _have_ seen him fly," Marina admitted, just as Harry and Ron were sitting down. "He's a natural. He has also reinforced my strong belief to keep both feet firmly on the ground."

"You can't fly?" Harry asked, sounding positively appalled at the thought. Carmen chuckled behind her.

"Of course I _can_. I just don't. I'm scared of heights, so I like flying about as much as Potions."

Harry looked aghast but then again, she hadn't expected a Quidditch player to understand.

"I've only ever seen her that queasy when I'm flying," Carmen confirmed, still standing there and making no move to join her friends at the Ravenclaw table. Marina could hear the grin in her voice.

"You play?" Ron asked and both boys got very eager faces.

"I got into my house team this year," Carmen announced proudly. Marina whirled around, which was very awkward on the table benches, and gaped at the brunette.

"You did? Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded and mentally made a list whom she had to send letters now. Her friend would be proud enough to tell Jupiter, seeing as he had played on his house team himself, but probably wouldn't tell her brother. She and David had spent most the summer fighting and neither one had been forthcoming on the _why_ of it.

"You've been busy," Carmen replied defensively.

"So are you, that's not exactly news," Marina huffed. "You getting on the team _so_ beats letters from home. Did you get it?"

"Yes, I'm now officially a Ravenclaw Beater," Carmen beamed. "Thank Ted for taking me to play tennis and baseball, would you?"

Marina snorted. Her uncle had taken them both to play some muggle sports. Of course, he'd spiced it up a bit by spelling the balls to be harder to see and hit. It had been good practice.

"Will do. But as far as the tournament goes, I'm all Gryffindor," she added with a grin. She'd always cheered for her own house, naturally. It was the only time, besides the House Cup, when she and Carmen competed against each other.

"May the best team win," Carmen announced pompously. All of them held out for about five seconds, then half the table was laughing. Carmen grinned broader than ever and waved at them, before joining her team at the Ravenclaw table.

"She seems nice," Harry commented, almost hesitant. Marina smiled.

"She can give a girl complexes. She aces all exams, plays Quidditch, takes an extracurricular in Arts and somehow still finds time to tutor the poor kids in Potions," Marina listed. "It's depressing."

"You tutor," Harry argued. "And don't you take Ancient Studies?"

She raised her eyebrows. She was pretty sure she'd never mentioned her extracurricular; it focused on really old cultures and their spells. It made for a few nice tricks up her sleeve.

Harry realised his slip and blushed.

"I might have asked Wood where you went on Saturdays."

And of course the Captain of the Quidditch team didn't want his new star player distracted, wondering what she was up to, and had told him. Oliver was a bit obsessed that way.

"We're also both in Frog Choir," she nodded.

"How is anyone supposed to compete?" Fred asked dramatically, clutching his hands to his chest. Angelina did Marina the favour and smacked him on the arm.

* * *

 _ **Later that day...**_

Marina stared. Everybody was running around like chicken with their heads cut off, gesturing and talking.

Marina stared; even as the students were allowed to leave their common rooms again.

Marina stared. Carmen and the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor house teams joined her, clearly impressed and animatedly chattering away like waterfalls.

And Marina _still_ stared – at the oversized, cranky mountain troll that had no business being in the castle, let alone in the girls' bathroom.

"Marina?" Carmen asked tentatively, obviously aware just how short of freaking out she really was. A mountain troll. Harry and Ron had fought a fully grown _mountain troll_.

"How the bloody hell did that thing get in here?" she exploded, louder than planned, and even forgot not to swear in front of the teachers. The room got silent as everyone stared at her in shock. Usually, she had better manners than to talk to adults that way – Dromeda had seen to that.

Right now though, she had a mighty hard time not to jinx anyone who had any role of responsibility and had so obviously failed tonight. She'd also be having a word with Percy for not even noticing that two of his charges had run off.

"We don't know," McGonagall answered her almost gently, which was very much at odds with the woman's normal demeanour.

"Not that it is any of your business," Snape sneered in his usual disgust for just about everyone.

"Yes, well, I am _making_ Harry my business," Marina fired back, for once not biting her tongue and barely refraining from calling the Potions master an oversized bat out loud.

"Potter isn't your concern-"

"You haven't been hearing his parents die every night for the past ten years!" she snapped, shrugging off the concerned hands trying to hold her back. "You haven't been hearing him cry as he _watched_ her die! If someone has no business where Harry is concerned, it's you!"

Too late, she realised what she had just admitted. Marina had sworn to Dromeda and Ted that the nightmares had stopped a few years ago. There was no way McGonagall wasn't going to enlightened her aunt.

Hagrid, a quiet observer as always, looked at her in concern. She was pretty sure Flitwick was hyperventilating with the high-pitched squeak that had escaped him. McGonagall and Sprout were looking at a loss for words.

Marina covered her eyes with one hand. Then she took a deep breath and looked back up, her back straight – and was facing the just arriving Albus Dumbledore, whose expression told her he'd heard. _Fantastic._

"Not a _single_ word to Harry about this," she demanded and turned her back on the teachers to stare down Fred and George. "I mean it."

The gingers nodded hastily, the rest of the teams promising their silence, and Carmen just took her hand, looking utterly miserable on Marina's behalf.

"Go," she asked her friend quietly. "Make sure those two geniuses don't get into more trouble tonight."

 _As long as I'm stuck here_ , went without saying. The other students hurriedly left the bathroom, while she was left to deal with the teachers. Everybody was looking concerned, obviously wondering if she was about to have a complete meltdown. Well. Everyone but Snape.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," he announced coldly. "Be grateful it isn't more after that outburst."

With that oh-so-gracious statement, he turned on his heels and limped out. _Limped?_ She wondered what the hell he'd been doing anywhere near that three-headed monstrosity.

"Black-," McGonagall started, struggling for what to say.

"I'm fine, Professor," she interrupted the woman. "I've always had nightmares and no one ever noticed. It's nothing new."

"What does your mind healer say?" Sprout asked carefully, probably suspecting that she would not appreciate that question.

"That unless I allow her to meddle around in my head with a memory spell, it's unlikely I'll ever forget."

After that particular session she'd lied to Dromeda's and Ted's faces. If there was nothing anyone could do about it, her aunt and uncle didn't need to worry themselves.

"I could-," Flitwick started but Marina cut him off.

"No. Thanks for offering but no," she said firmly. "No one gets to mess with my head. There's a reason Dromeda has been teaching me occlumency for two years now."

And Marina had been a spectacular disaster at it for a year; until David Nott had sat down with her and asked why she thought it didn't work. He'd given her a few tips, since he'd mastered the skill for his auror training, and it had helped. It was slow progress but she was getting better.

"Very well," Dumbledore conceded. "But that still leaves your... opinion about Professor Snape." She huffed.

"Believe it or not, up until he spoke up Snape was the last thing on my mind," she told him. "I'm a bit more concerned with the fact that two eleven year-olds fought a troll tonight." A troll that was still out cold, if as cranky asleep as he'd surely been awake.

"I awarded Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley five points each," McGonagall told her grimly. "They went after it to save Ms. Granger, who foolishly believed she could handle it on her own. I took five points for her lack of judgement."

Marina had a hard time keeping the snort in. Hermione, breaking the rules? Those three had told their Head of House quite a story.

"Well, this will make them inseparable," she sighed, gesturing towards the twitching beast.

"If you would like to check on Harry, we're done here," Dumbledore said quietly and for a second she wondered if he'd read her mind. Then she reminded herself that unauthorised legilimency was illegal.

"Professors." She nodded at the lot of them, before sprinting out of that bathroom and all the way to the common room.

* * *

 _ **The next morning...**_

Harry, Ron and Hermione were the heroes of the Gryffindor table. Everybody was jealous it hadn't been them, facing the troll. _Morons_. Even some students from other houses came over to hear the story from the participants themselves. Thankfully, all three of them had enough sense not to talk about it.

As soon as she'd entered the common room the night before, Alicia had pointed her to the corner furthest away from the entrance where the three first-years had been sitting, still visibly shaken from their adventure. Marina had gone over there and, not caring about the audience, pulled Harry into a hug. Her chest ached, remembering how he had frozen in shock before hugging her back. Her empathy had told her that he'd had no idea how to react. That he'd never had anyone care before so it confused him. Of course, a few seconds later she had berated them all and asked for the real story.

She was torn between the inevitable pride of knowing he'd only risked his neck to save an unsuspecting Hermione and the fear of everything that could have gone terribly wrong.

Harry had sat down next to her this morning and she sensed it was to comfort her. The boy kind of had that backwards, she thought wryly.

"So how's Transfiguration going?" she asked him to get the conversation away from the troll.

"Better," he grinned at her. "After you helped me, it's been working like a charm." He rolled his eyes at the unintended pun.

"McGonagall is fair. You're a pure-blood but you might as well be muggle-born. She'll keep that in mind."

Most wizarding families taught their kids the basics before they ever came to school.

"Mum was pretty good, right?" he asked almost casually. She hadn't yet told him about her empathy, otherwise he would have known not to bother; she could sense how starved for information he was.

"Best of her year," she confirmed. "Sort of like a redhead Hermione. Flitwick's best student ever."

Harry debated all of three seconds, before he couldn't help himself anymore.

"How do you know that?"

The three Beaters had overheard her telling Carmen that very thing, so now they snuck glances her way, concern written all over their faces. Marina reached deep down for her Gryffindor courage, that always seemed to disappear where Harry was concerned, and took a deep breath, bracing herself.

"My mum was Lily's best friend since their first year. She wasn't home when she died, but Dromeda and the others went through her stuff. Mum was writing journals – she left them all to me. Dromeda and Ted gave them to me three years ago. And mum wrote _everything_ down."

Harry perked up considerably, looking at her with a mix of sympathy over the grief he could hear in her voice and hope. Marina wondered how long he would hesitate before asking her to let him read them. And she didn't think she'd have it in her to turn him down.

"The mail's coming!" Hermione informed them, oblivious to their rather serious conversation. Harry visibly swallowed whatever he'd been about to say and looked up. Mail time was always a sight. Hundreds of owls circled over their heads, only descending when they'd found the person they were delivering to.

Marina was surprised when one of the school owls hovered in front of her face, letting lose an impatient shriek, and dropping a whole bundle of letters in her cornflakes. Lovely.

"Wow," Harry commented with wide eyes as she sorted the letters by their handwriting.

"Overbearing worry-warts," she mumbled. " _I_ wasn't the one fighting a troll and yet they'll all want a reply that I'm fine."

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly.

"Don't be. As reckless as it was, you saved Hermione."

And the three of them were indeed inseparable now. She supposed there were just some things you couldn't go through without becoming friends.

 _Marina,_

 _I just heard what happened. Glad you're okay. If you're still interested, I'll teach you_ **that** _spell over the holidays. Seems to me you might needed. Give Carmen a hug from me._

 _Cheers,_

 _David_

"Who's David?" Harry asked curiously, since he'd been reading from the side.

"Carmen's older brother. I used to think he was annoying when we were little, but he's actually a bit of a tutor now. When he isn't working."

"How old is he?"

"Nineteen. He works at the ministry. Speaking of-" The next missive had suspiciously famailiar handwriting.

" _ **Constant vigilance**_ _! M._ "

Marina guffawed at that. She just shook her head when Harry shot her a look. It would take way too long to explain who Mad-Eye was right now. Besides, she'd promised the auror she wouldn't tell anyone how involved he was in her life. Paranoid as he was, he worried she might become a target for his numerous enemies otherwise.

" _Marina,_

 _we almost took you out of school after Minerva wrote to us. We will be talking about all of it during the holidays. We can't believe you lied to us. But that's a discussion best had in person._

 _We're glad Carmen and you are okay. It is unbelievable someone managed to get a troll into the school. The headmaster will be receiving a few choice words._

 _Now, as far as Harry is concerned: don't leave him out of your sight again, sweetheart. He seems to have James' penchant of getting into trouble, only a hundred times worse. Have you decided what to do about the journals yet? Let us now._

 _Our best to Carmen._

 _Love,_

 _Dromeda & Ted_"

Marina winced. She could feel Dromeda's disappointment dripping off that letter.

"Your aunt?" Harry asked in an almost commiserating tone.

"Yes. I slipped up last night in front of the teachers about... some nightmares I wasn't supposed to be having anymore. I lied to Aunt Dromeda's and Uncle Ted's faces about it two years ago. McGonagall apparently sent them an owl immediately."

Harry smiled somewhat amused and handed her the last letter for today. She would've known who it was from without the handwriting.

" _Marina,_

 _I hope you really are okay. Since I'm sure no one else will have bothered to tell you this, I will:_

 _The troll, and Harry's involvement, was not your fault. He did exactly what James would have done – reckless, without thinking, but brave._

 _But seeing that even as a toddler you were protective of our boy, I know you probably had a small meltdown. Just remember everything we've taught you. You can handle it._

 _Make sure to cheer him on triple, to stand in for his father and me, during his first Quidditch match. Maybe ask Carmen to brew you a Calming Draught beforehand, though._

 _Write back to me as soon as you find time, please._

 _Love,_

 _Remus"_

Sometimes it was irritating how well he knew her.

"My godfather," Marina answered Harry's unspoken question. "He knows I can barely stand to watch Carmen play."

"But you are coming, right?" he asked and she heard the uncertainty plainly. She looked around, making sure no one was watching, for the eleven year-old's sake, before reaching over and ruffling his hair.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it."

His answering grin made the ulcer she'd surely develop watching him play worth it.


	7. Torn

" _Dear Marina,_

 _I hope you're having a great Christmas and aren't in too much trouble about the lying thing._

 _So far, it's been the greatest holiday in my life – I got presents in loads! Even Ron's mum sent me one. And someone sent me a package anonymously... it's something that used to belong to my dad. I'll show you when you're back._

 _And then of course there was your present:_ _ **thank you so much**_ _. The twins might have mentioned just how hard the Duplication Charm is on magical objects – like your mum's journal. It's kind of weird but I love reading about mum..._

 _Anyway, I'll see you after the holidays._

 _Cheers,_

 _Harry"_

Marina smiled to herself. She'd copied her mum's first journal and sent it to him for Christmas. It was a good thing he liked it because something told her Dora's cookies were probably a disaster. It had taken her another week after Harry's first Quidditch match – which he'd won splendidly – to work up the nerve to tell him about the journals in detail. Her mum hadn't just written in them; she'd used them kind of like a pensieve. It was one hell of a charm but she'd managed to imbue her journals with the corresponding memories of what she'd written down. Not all of them, mind you, but enough. Unfortunately, copying those memories was definitely above her skill level so Harry couldn't watch them like she had. But he'd get some information on Lily at least. It wasn't until the next journal, which she hadn't copied yet, her mum had started writing about James and his friends.

"I'm impressed," Ted said as he read over her shoulder. "I didn't think you'd share them."

"If anyone deserves it, it's Harry," she sighed. "He didn't even know he looks like them. Or that Lily was he smartest witch of their generation and James the Seeker for Gryffindor."

Dromeda was pacing around the kitchen, waving her wand and making the appliances spring to life in order to cook dinner. She wasn't talking to Marina as of yet. Normally, it would have her worried and grovelling, but she figured her cousin was just gearing up for the explosion. It wasn't like she didn't sense their collective disappointment. Ted had a shadow in his eyes that hadn't been there before. It was the exact reason she'd lied in the first place; they'd worry themselves into early graves.

"At least he's keeping out of trouble."

Marina bit her tongue at that nonsense. She knew that Harry was trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel was. The name rang a bell but she couldn't place it. But whoever he was, one of his possessions was being hidden in Hogwarts; and guarded by the three-headed oversized canine Hagrid had named _Fluffy_ of all things.

Of course, Harry confiding in her put her in a bit of an awkward position: on the one hand she wanted him to trust her, which meant keeping his secrets. On the other hand, what he was doing was clearly dangerous and the somewhat responsible girl Dromeda had raised wanted to tell the Headmaster.

Well, the Notts were coming for dinner and David had promised to teach her that Disillusionment Charm. It turned you into a human, magical chameleon, basically making you invisible, but it was a O.W.L.-level charm. She was one of the best in her year but she wasn't _that_ good... yet.

* * *

 _ **Christmas Eve, Tonks House**_

Everybody was stuffed from the giant roast Dromeda had cooked and sitting around the living room. As the adults, already tipsy from eggnog, were singing " _Oh rest, ye merry magic folks_ ", Marina was in a corner with her best friend and David.

"You didn't have to," he said quietly, as to not draw his sister's attention who was very engrossed in one of the muggle books Marina had got her for Christmas. David was referring to his own gift: a pocket sneakoscope. Mad-Eye had told her often enough that every auror should have one of the early-warning devices, and David was every bit as frugal as Carmen. He never bought anything he did not absolutely need, so she'd figured he didn't have one yet.

"Your mentor would disagree," she mumbled back. She was glad the grouch had taken David, his best friend Elias and Dora under his cloak. But she highly suspected he'd done it because they were her friends; sort of. She'd never gotten to the bottom of why he was feeling so guilty.

"With all the advanced spells you're teaching me, consider it your tutelage payment," she grinned. His lips twitched. Marina sometimes wondered where he'd got his looks from. Bianca was an older version of Carmen with gray eyes instead of blue. Ty's hair was lighter but he had gray eyes too.

David didn't really fit into the family picture, what with his light ash brown hair and jungle green eyes. He must have got it from a grandparent or something.

"Besides, you're one to talk," she added and held up _Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms_ – his present to her. It was an advanced level rune book and probably had cost him a small fortune.

"You want to get started tomorrow?" he asked with a look to the adults. Or the _other_ adults, really. She kept forgetting he was so much older – then again the dragon hide boots and the necklace with hippogriff talons on it made him look anything but serious. He'd spent way too much time with Charlie Weasley, an old school friend of his, this summer. The other man was in Romania, working with dragons. Merlin, she felt way too young.

"Yes, if I can get Dromeda to let me out of my room," she grumbled. Her cousin had, as expected, cracked and berated Marina for the lying and secret keeping. Aside from the planned dinners, two more to go, and carolling at the orphanage, Marina was grounded.

"You really should have told them," David said, frowning.

"Not you too," she groaned. "I have nightmares. What's the big deal?"

"She's just worried, you know."

"Nothing short of a Memory Spell is going to make it stop. And I'm not having _anyone_ mess around in my head. _Ever_."

There were way too many of her parents' secrets in there. Marina had already sorted through the journals and decided which ones of them she'd not give Harry. There were just some things, like their fathers' rule breaking, that he didn't need to know.

* * *

 _ **December 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **1991**_

Marina was practising the Disillusionment Charm on some weeds in the backyard when Hedwig arrived. The snow owl let out a tired hoot.

"Thanks, Hedwig. Here."

Marina pointed and transformed a leaf into a water bowl. Technically, she wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school – but Mad-Eye had managed an exception for her because he insisted she practice all the extra spells he taught her.

Hedwig shot her a look that couldn't be seen as anything but appreciative. That owl was much too intelligent. Marina ripped open the letter.

" _Marina,_

 _you won't believe it! I was out Christmas Night and found a mirror. Granted, I was hiding from Snape but still. And whenever I look into it, I see Mum and Dad!_

 _You have to come see when you're back._

 _See you soon,_

 _Harry"_

Uh-oh. That couldn't be good. Sneaking around the castle at night was bad enough if you only did it once. But somehow Maria couldn't imagine Harry would stay away from that mirror if he got to see Lily and James. She knew she wouldn't.

* * *

 _ **Early January, 1992**_

Harry was a distracted mess. Considering Snape would referee at the next Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, that was a very bad thing. Marina knew the reason of course.

None other than Albus Dumbledore had caught Harry at that mirror he'd written her about. The headmaster had not punished harry for the late-night strolls but had moved the Mirror of Erised to another location.

The damn thing showed a person their heart's deepest desire, so naturally Harry had seen the parents he'd never known. Marina rather suspected she would have seen the same. Or maybe she'd see herself with someone who would finally tell her what had happened to her father...

* * *

 _ **June 1992**_

Marina and Carmen were sitting outside and enjoying their last day in Hogwarts this year. She didn't know whether to be sad or relieved. Harry had gotten over the his experience with the Mirror of Erised amazingly well. Seeing James and Lily, even if it was only an illusion, had triggered something in him.

Naturally, him and his two best friends were still worried about the Philosopher's Stone, but Hagrid and McGonagall had told them in no uncertain terms that it was safe. But considering the wraith that had tried to kill Harry in the Forbidden Forest, during his detention, Marina was inclined to agree with Harry. That abomination, which had been drinking unicorn blood, was Voldemort. He was obviously still weak, otherwise Harry would most likely be dead. Killing a unicorn was a sin beyond comprehension, drinking its blood cursed you for all eternity. Voldemort was becoming desperate to regain his strength. What better way to do that than to get his hands on an artefact that bestowed immortality?

"Sometimes I don't get you," Carmen announced, looking up from her copy of _Witch Weekly_. "The exams are over and you aced all of them – no matter what Snape said. Yet here you are, brooding."

"Worrying," Marina clarified with a sigh. "Harry's right, you know. That stone isn't safe here. Not with Voldemort out there."

"Yes, it is. We have Dumbledore protecting it."

"Yeah," Marina drawled. "Because that did Harry so much good in the forest. What the bloody hell is Dumbledore thinking, anyway, keeping the stone here?"

Carmen, finally catching on to just how on edge Marina really was, sat up straighter and looked at her sharply.

"Your Inner Eye?"

"Something like that," Marina mumbled, rubbing her temples. "That's the problem of being a weak Seer. But I have a really bad feeling."

"You read the cards?" Carmen asked, concerned.

"Yes. And don't ask. All very depressing and not very reassuring." According to her tarot set, Harry would be facing his personal devil, aka Voldemort, soon. There were only very few wizards and witches that truly believed in Divination, and none of them at Hogwarts, so she hadn't bothered telling anyone about it. She'd just be brushed up as a panicking thirteen year-old anyway. But something was wrong and she dreaded the moment she'd be proven right.

Unfortunately, she didn't have to wait long. She climbed through the hole behind the Fat Lady into the common room – and almost stumbled over Neville Longbottom. His eyes were moving rapidly but he looked almost frozen.

"Who the hell put a full-body-lock on you _here_?" she asked, waving her wand once to reverse the jinx. She knew that Draco had jinxed Neville numerous times, but what _Gryffindor_ would-?

"Hermione," Neville grumbled, clearly shaken that a friend would do that to him.

"Why?" Marina asked carefully, her insides churning. Her bad feeling was back tenfold.

"She, Harry and Ron were sneaking out again!" Neville complained, mutinous. "They're going to cost us even more points! So I... I tried to stop them."

She was torn between commending him for the effort and asking him if he'd lost his mind. Neville, for all that he was a nice kid, lacked magical prowess. There was no way he'd stand a chance against either one of those three.

"Harry was holding some sort of fabric-," Neville went on, clearly glad he could hand it all over to an older student, "- and the flute Hagrid gave him for Christmas."

If they'd taken James' invisibility cloak, that was not good. And hadn't Hagrid mentioned, drunk she might add, that all you needed to get past the three-headed monstrosity, _Fluffy_ , was music?

"Dear Merlin," Marina groaned, reaching the inevitable conclusion that those three morons had gone up to the third floor to, presumably, stop Voldemort from stealing the stone.

There was no time whatsoever to tell McGonagall, and Dumbledore was in London – which was probably why they'd gone up there in the first place, come to think of it. With the headmaster gone, it was the perfect opportunity.

"Neville, you stay here," she ordered the boy sternly.

"But Gryffindor-"

"The House Cup will be the least of our problems if what they're so worried about proves true," she told him grimly. "You stay in here. I'll go after them."

Before he could protest, she turned on her heels and walked back out, ignoring the Fat Lady's indignant complaint. Once out of sight, she cast the Disillusionment Charm on herself, mentally making a note to get something extra special for David's birthday this year, and took of running.

Her heart sank when she saw the door wide open. Fluffy, she scoffed, was not amused. The trap door beneath him was torn off its hinges. Someone had gone down there already.

Marina hesitated. The sensible thing to do would be to turn around and get McGonagall to listen and help her. But every fibre of her being told her that she didn't have time for that. Harry needed help _now_. So, against her better judgement, she pointed her wand at the harp in the corner, spelling it to play on its own. The oversized canine took two minutes to fall asleep. Then she jumped down the trapdoor.

And landed on a plant. It was a Devil's Snare. Immediately, she was reminded why she hated Herbology – half the time the weed tried to kill you. Thankfully, as much as she did not appreciate the subject, she was still fairly good at it. Devil's Snares hated warmth and heat. So she raised her wand and yelled " _Incendio!_ ". It was a much more powerful fire-charm than the one Hermione had used to set Snape on fire a few months ago. The Snare retreated with a lot of noise – how exactly a plant could make noise was still beyond her.

Marina subsequently tumbled down, through the remaining plant, and found herself on the ground, facing a door.

"Okay, that was Sprout," she mumbled to herself. Hagrid had told the others, which he really shouldn't have done, what teachers had helped protect the stone. Flitwick, Sprout, Snape, Quirrell, McGonagall and of course Dumbledore himself. Then again, if the trio was right and Snape was the one helping Voldemort, none of it would do much good since he'd know how to get past it.

She walked through the door, wand raised, and found herself surrounded by... _flying keys?_ Three broomsticks were hovering in front of her. Harry, she thought wryly, probably hadn't had any problem with this. Just as she was about to force herself to take one of the brooms, the door opposite opened – and a very groggy Ron, supported by Hermione, hobbled out.

"Marina!" the girl exclaimed, panicked. "You have to help him."

"Obviously," Marina said with narrowed eyes. "What were you three thinking?"

"If Snape gets that stone, You-Know-Who comes back. Harry..."

And there it was. Eleven years old and he'd rather risk his life than let his parents' murderer win. How could anyone argue with that?

"He told me to send an owl to Dumbledore while he's-"

"He's right," Marina interrupted. "You go do that, I'll go and try to help him."

Easier said than done. Cold fear churned her stomach. She was under no illusions that if she really was about to face Voldemort, she didn't stand any chance. At all.

"But you can't!" Hermione almost whined. "You can't get through Snape's fire."

"His what-now?"

Hermione proceeded to explain all about how Harry had caught the key to get through this room, how Ron had actually won the giant bewitched chess game in the next, and how she and Harry – after having to leave an injured Ron behind – had been relieved the troll in yet the next room had already been dead. Then they'd come to Snape's riddle and potions, with both doors sealed by magical fire.

"I drank the potion to get back, and Harry took the rest of the one to keep going," Hermione reported miserably. "There's nothing left."

Marina's knees almost buckled in gratitude to Mad-Eye, whom she would never ever tease about his paranoia again. He'd taught her about the potions Snape had used; and both potions Harry and Hermione had used could be replicated by a spell if you were powerful enough. It was almost a N.E.W.T.-level charm, but she'd mastered it just the summer before under the strict guidance of the auror.

"I can get through," she assured the two worried friends. "Go ahead and get Dumbledore. I can help Harry but if it's really him..."

She didn't finish on account that they were probably already terrified enough.

Without another word Ron and Hermione grabbed a broomstick while she proceeded. The chess board looked like a battle field. Wizard's Chess was brutal, if you thought about it. To see the life-sized version the trio had taken part in... yeah.

Like Harry and Hermione before, she was really glad the troll was dead already. And then she entered the room she knew she'd never leave if she couldn't get the spell right. _Good times._

As soon as the door closed behind her, flames shot up. Same with the door on the other side of the room. She couldn't help but think that Hermione was already a lot smarter than her, when she read the riddle. It would have taken her _hours_ to figure that out – if she'd ever figured it out.

Marina forced herself to calm down and reach some semblance of a balanced mental state. Then she jabbed her wand forward once before pointing it at herself.

" _Glacius maximus!_ "

Within seconds, she was almost frozen solid. Walking was a challenge now, but she supposed it was better than getting burned to a crisp.

Taking one last fortifying breath, she hurried and walked through the flames. It was a very odd sensation, to say the least. But thanks to the power she'd put behind her spell, it worked. The flames spit her out on the other side, in one peace and very warm – the ice had all melted away during those few seconds.

Neither one of the people down those handful of stairs had noticed her entry, and she ducked behind a column and out of sight. Her brain was struggling to process.

The trio had been wrong. It wasn't Snape who was helping Voldemort: it was Quirrell.

Insecure, nervous and stuttering _Quirrell_. Except, he was none of those things right now. He spoke perfectly articulate and his voice had a sharp edge to it she'd never heard before. Apparently, he'd asked Harry what he was seeing in... the _Mirror of Erised_. Trust Dumbledore to come up with that.

Harry mumbled some nonsense about winning the House Cup.

" _He lies... he lies..."_

Marina's hair stood on end. Quirrell hadn't spoken those words. The voice seemingly had come out of nowhere, sounding more like a snake than a human voice.

Harry was backing away from the evil wizard – and Marina noticed that his right hand was twitching towards his pocket. She knew that he kept his wand inside his jacket so what-?

" _Let me speak to him,"_ snarled the inhuman voice again.

"Master, you're not strong enough," Quirrell cautioned and at his use of the title, Marina's gut dropped.

" _I have enough strength for this..."_

Harry seemed just as frozen in horror as she was. They both watched as Quirrell unwound his idiotic turban. Once he pulled it off, she wished he hadn't.

Where the back of Quirrell's head was supposed to be, was a face. A horribly distorted, misshapen face. It didn't have a nose, but nostrils instead – like a snake. The eyes were gleaming red.

" _Harry Potter,"_ the face said, clearly unimpressed. _"So we meet again."_

Which was the confirmation of all Marina's worst fears. While Harry was talking with the monster that had murdered his parents and her mother, she was trying to come up with a way to get Harry out of there.

When Voldemort offered to resurrect James and Lily though, she couldn't stand back any longer.

She sent a stunning spell the monster's way, not in the least surprised when he deflected it with a simple flick of his – or Quirrell's – hand.

" _Marina Black,"_ her nightmare's face hissed. _"Stupid like your father. He would've risked himself for his friends every time."_

Disgust sounded in every word.

Marina on the other hand considered it a badge of honour. Any quality Voldemort didn't approve of was good.

"Better for friends than for you," she countered, a bit surprised that her voice came out steady. "Men like Quirrell are fools."

" _Your mother didn't think so,"_ the face suddenly smiled. _"She offered to join me in exchange for her life."_

Marina decided that smiling made him look even worse. She didn't rise to the bait though. Her mother had done no such thing.

" _Give me the stone,"_ Voldemort coaxed, suddenly sounding very serious. _"And I will give you your father back."_

Even though Marina knew very well he was lying, a painful hope rose in her chest. The monster knew where her father was and she didn't – and there came the resentment towards her guardians. Normally she stamped on that because she owed them so much, but right now she focused on it so she wouldn't fall into his trap and be distracted by false promises.

"Never," she said quietly, but her voice carried in the large room.

Harry, somehow recognising it as the sign it was, inched behind her. She wondered where the hell his wand was – not that it would do either of them much good.

" _Kill her!"_ snarled Voldemort angrily and Quirrell turned around, facing her.

Marina noticed that he looked... weak. Exhausted. Then, she understood: the man was harbouring his master inside his own body, like a parasite. Even without training in the Dark Arts, common sense suggested that two … souls, in lack of a better word, in one body would drain said body faster. That was why they'd had to resort to drinking unicorn blood. Voldemort's possession was killing them both, just very slowly.

A very much _insane_ plan formed in her head, even as she blocked the Cutting Hex her possessed opponent sent her way. A plan that might very well just get her killed faster. But it was probably Harry's only chance to get out of there alive.

"First chance you get-," she told Harry, "you run. _Confringo!_ " She'd aimed the blast above Quirrell who now had to dodge the rubble.

She immediately erected a wall from the rest of the rubble, just in time to block the bright green spell that had probably been the Killing Curse.

"No third-year can fight that well!" Quirrell almost screeched in outrage and confusion.

"When they've been raised by aurors and members of the Order, they can," she taunted and blasted the mirror to pieces. She'd happily accept a year's worth detention for that if she made it out alive.

Again, Quirrell ducked out of the way. Then he sent the glass shards her way with an angry wave of his wand.

" _Kill her, you fool!"_ screamed Voldemort, none too pleased. Non-verbal magic was something she couldn't do yet, unfortunately, so he saw everything coming that she threw his way.

Marina, on the other hand, was now reduced to Shield Charms and ducking for cover as Quirrell was very versed in casting without speaking.

Harry, following her instructions, tried to make a run for it. She watched in horror as the possessed maniac snapped his fingers – and set a circle of fire around the entire room. Considering it almost scorched her where she was, Marina assumed it was Fiendfyre; the foulest magic he could have come up with. She had _never_ read or heard of anyone who could cast it without a wand.

Then, to make matters worse, Harry started to argue with the two-faced monster.

Quirrell, or Voldemort, obviously at his tether's end jumped and practically flew towards Harry. Marina aimed an " _Impedimenta!_ " between them but it was no use. Still sailing through the air, Quirrell pointed his wand at her and this time she wasn't fast enough: his curse ripped deep, open wounds into her flesh. She crumbled, screaming.

* * *

 _ **Harry POV**_

Harry watched in terror as Marina fell, bleeding... just about everywhere. He took an instinctive step towards her before his brain kicked back in – just in time to look back at his enemy who was wrapping his hands around his throat.

"Foolish boy," Quirrell hissed and tightened his grip.

The stone, Harry thought, he couldn't get the stone.

He was getting dizzy but he saw how Marina raised her wand, her entire arm trembling with the effort, and blasted yet another column to pieces.

It surprised Quirrell for all of a second and that was all Harry had needed: he bucked underneath the man until he got his arms out from between them and tore at the madman's hands.

" _You will pay for that, girl,"_ Voldemort promised darkly. But then, to everyone's shock, Quirrell started screaming in agony and let go of Harry. The skin where Harry had touched him was burned black.

"What magic is this?" Quirrell demanded, the pain evident in his voice. His master however didn't care.

" _Get the stone!"_ he ordered with a shriek. Quirrell's eyes sharpened again with focus.

"Touch him!" Marina croaked, scaring Harry with how weak she sounded. "Harry, touch him!"

She was becoming dangerously pale, he thought, and she was still bleeding. He didn't know how she was even still conscious.

"Harry, the... stone!" she visibly forced out, before slumping into a heap altogether.

Harry forced himself to focus on Quirrell, who seemed all of a second away from killing him from afar, and reached out to press his hands on the man's face.

He didn't have a choice, he reminded himself sternly, as Quirrell wailed in agony. He couldn't let Voldemort get the stone.

But the longer he kept his skin on Quirrell's, the longer he burned him, the weaker he became. He could feel himself slipping away, looking at Marina in despair. She'd come for him and now she would die for nothing. He would fail.

Harry barely felt his legs give out, even as his enemy crumpled along with him.

Darkness started creeping in, pulling him under and he could still hear Voldemort scream _"Kill him!"_ , even as some other voice called _"Harry!"_ and he turned his head to look at the godsister who'd died for him today. His last thought before oblivion claimed him was that... he'd never even told her he loved her...


	8. Truth (I)

Marina woke at the infirmary. Everything bloody _hurt_. Given the curse Quirrell had thrown at her, that wasn't surprising.

She listened to Harry and Dumbledore talk about everything that had happened, pretending to still be out of it.

"How is Marina?" Harry asked, sounding afraid of the answer, as soon as his worries about the stone had been put to rest. She didn't like Dumbledore's answering sigh at all.

"Madam Pomfrey was able to reverse most the damage. Unfortunately, it was a powerful curse. I'm afraid she'll scar where the curse struck her." Marina had to bite her tongue to stifle her shocked groan.

"She came for me," Harry muttered guiltily.

"Of course she did," Dumbledore replied gently. "Ms Black spent a considerable amount of time this year, making sure you were fine." She supposed she should be grateful the headmaster wasn't going into detail. Especially considering he'd refused her when she'd offered, with Dromeda's permission, to take Harry in so he wouldn't have to go back to his awful relatives. Dumbledore had replied something about Harry's own good and someday she'd understand.

Then Dumbledore proceeded to explain exactly how Harry had survived Voldemort again. Lily's sacrifice had created a protective barrier no one, least of all her murderer, would be able to breach. It was no wonder she sensed Harry was close to tears.

Once Madam Pomfrey insisted that Harry needed rest and waited until he'd taken his Sleeping Potion, the headmaster headed her way.

"It was very reckless of you, dear girl," he said without preamble as she sat up, untangling herself from the covers.

"Yes," she agreed and leaned back with a sigh. You knew something was really wrong when sitting up exhausted you like this.

"Why didn't you go to Professor McGonagall?" the old wizard asked.

"Harry, Hermione and Ron tried that," she replied dryly. "It seems Professor McGonagall didn't take their concern seriously. And she told them you were in London so..."

"Yes, it was poor timing indeed," Dumbledore confirmed.

"Poor timing or a trap. Anyway, there was no _time_ to get anyone either. I was hoping I'd catch them _before_ Harry would have to face Voldemort but I was too late."

"How did you get past Severus' fire?" His eyes twinkled with curiosity behind his half-moon glasses.

"Glacio Charm," she admitted. "A mutual friend of ours wants me prepared for just about anything, Professor."

"Yes, Alastor does have that tendency," Dumbledore agreed with a small chuckle. She didn't even want to know how he knew Mad-Eye was tutoring her – the auror wouldn't tell anyone.

"I must say, from Harry's recount of events, you fought admirably."

"I got lucky," she shook her head immediately. "Quirrell was weak and tired. If he hadn't been possessed... well, then he wouldn't have tried to steal the stone, would he? Either way, if the possession hadn't drained them both the way it did, Harry and I would both be dead right now."

"It was a close call for you regardless," Dumbledore told her sagely. "I barely made it there in time to save you both."

"I was trying to buy time," Marina admitted. "I knew that even in their drained state, I wouldn't really stand a chance for long. So I figured if I could just keep him... them... busy long enough..."

"Well, reckless though it might have been, it was a commendable action," the headmaster smiled. "And I've had an influx of owls from your family and friends, all demanding answers."

"Dear Merlin. How did they find out so fast?"

"I believe Ms Nott might have send them an owl after Mr Longbottom ignored your instruction and went to inform your best friend of what was happening."

Of course. Carmen would have send an owl to Remus and Mad-Eye post-haste. But speaking of family...

"Professor... Voldemort said... I mean I know he's a liar..." Good grief, she hadn't stuttered as much since she'd been eight. He waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts – or rather her courage, as she wasn't sure she wanted to hear his answer.

"He offered me Dad in exchange for the stone," she mumbled eventually and saw the headmaster wince ever so slightly.

"Marina-"

"Please don't," she asked pleadingly. "All I ever get from Dromeda, or even Remus, is absolutely nothing. They just keep pretending like I've never had a father. And I know _He_ was lying but... What could be so bad they won't tell me? After I've had to listen to Mum and Lily _die_ for ten years on end." She winced. She hadn't meant for that last part to come out. Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"That is a story for Andromeda to tell you," he said firmly. "But I will express my opinion that maybe it is time to do so now." Then maybe she'd actually stand a chance of getting the truth, finally.

"I will take my leave now," Dumbledore announced. "You should rest. And perhaps it would be prudent to owl Alastor about... the consequence of your encounter."

As soon as the headmaster had left the infirmary, Marina threw off her covers and pulled at the bandage around her hips and waist. The curse hat hit on her left hipbone, ripping the first wound before it had spread and she'd probably looked like someone had practised knife throwing and missed a lot.

"Now, Ms Black-," Madame Pomfrey said in a cautioning tone but Marina ignored her and pulled off the white material. _Scar_ had been a bit of understatement, she thought numbly. The wound still glistened in an angry red welt. Different to the actual wounds the curse had caused, this one wasn't clean-cut and straight. It was, in a word, a mess.

"Well," she said, at a loss. "I suppose I was lucky he didn't aim anywhere it would be seen." Because a tiny scar like Harry's was one thing, caused by evil as it might have been, but this... Curse-wounds would always pain the victim, as longs as they lived.

Marina flinched at the thought of how Dromeda would break down crying once she found out. She was so owling Remus to come help her with that.

"You were lucky, period," Pomfrey corrected and steered her back into bed. And she'd be luckier yet, she thought drolly, if she survived the holidays.

* * *

 _ **King's Cross, London**_

Marina's heart went out to Harry when he had to leave with the muggles. Being around them for all of a minute had all her instincts screaming and she'd liked to claw the man's eyes out for insulting Molly Weasley, even if it had been subtle.

But she had her instructions not to interfere with Harry's living arrangement and without Dromeda, there was really nothing she could do. So she resolved to write to him every week, muggles be damned.

She did a double-take, startled, at the crowd awaiting her. The Notts were standing there, all five of them, right next to the gathering that had no doubt assembled due to the news of her injury: Mad-Eye, Remus, Dromeda, Ted, Dora, Kingsley Shacklebolt ( _why?_ ) and, to Marina's immense dismay, Teresa Coolidge – her mind healer.

"Inconspicuous, you are not," she told the lot of them dryly once she came within hearing distance.

"Glamour charms," Kingsley countered in his calming voice. He was an auror and had, as far she remembered, trained under Mad-Eye.

"What in Merlin's name are you all doing here?"

"You almost died," Dora reminded her, as if she could forget.

"But I didn't. And that still doesn't explain what you're all doing at King's Cross instead of having this intervention at home."

"That's what I said," Bianca cut in cheerfully, lightening the mood.

"We wanted to make sure you were safe," Remus muttered under his breath so his words wouldn't carry.

And with that they all herded out of the station – it must have looked absolutely ridiculous to the muggles, even under glamour. The charms did neither hide Iris and Starlight, who were none too impressed by being forced to stay in their cage and carrier, nor David's odd choices of accessories.

It took them about an hour to get home, where the entire crowd made themselves comfortable on Ted's old sofa and looked at Marina expectantly. Almost as if sensing her annoyance, Starlight jumped onto her lap and purred. She decided to get it over with and told them everything that had happened. Unsurprisingly, they were stunned into complete silence.

"You fought You-Know-Who?" Dromeda finally managed to choke out, almost as pale as the Hogwarts ghosts.

"Well, technically I fought Quirrell," Marina corrected and fidgeted in her seat. They all looked shell-shocked. If the reason hadn't been so serious, she would have congratulated herself in the achievement. But as it was, even Mad-Eye looked a little green; and that was saying something.

"What were you thinking?" Jupiter eventually asked, admonishingly.

Marina raised both brows.

"That an eleven year-old boy I happen to care about was willing to risk his life, rather than let our parents' murderer win," she replied and everybody had the grace to look a bit sheepish. "And that I was willing to risk mine to help Harry."

"You shouldn't. You're only-"

"Don't give the I'm only thirteen routine," Marina interrupted Ted sharply. "What was I supposed to do? Sit around and let him get killed?"

"Why didn't you go to Professor McGonagall?" Remus asked calmly, sounding perfectly reasonable.

"The trio did that. She didn't believe them and sent them to the common room. She also mentioned Dumbledore was gone and that's when they realised..."

"That it was the perfect time to steal the stone," Mad-Eye grumbled in agreement. "Smart lad."

Dromeda shot him a glare.

"You expected to die, didn't you?" Teresa asked and everyone practically held their breath.

"I went to face Lord Voldemort," Marina replied, ignoring the collective flinch. "The thought definitely occurred."

"Did you _want_ to die?" Marina stared at her mind-healer and wondered if maybe she wasn't the only one going mental.

"I am _not_ suicidal," she snapped, concluding that there was no polite way to have that conversation.

"And yet you didn't hesitate, knowing what was waiting for you down there."

"As if anyone in this room wouldn't have done the same damn thing."

"We're fully trained," Laura said gently. "You're not."

"No. But I am the thirteen year-old with eidetic memory. I _remember_ Harry from back then. I lost him once to the decisions of Dumbledore, sound as I'm sure they might be. I am not losing him again, especially to that coward!"

"Marina-"

"Don't, Dromeda, just don't. I'm going upstairs to unpack now. I'm glad you all stopped by. But I am fine so please just drop it."

* * *

 _ **July 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1992**_

In hindsight, yelling at the people who cared about her had probably not been such a good idea. They had been very understanding and backed off. But Mad-Eye and Kingsley had agreed that, if she was going to run into danger willingly, she needed more training. So now Dora was to share some of her auror tricks with her.

Marina had just finished her homework in Divination, blasted crystal ball, and Ancient Runes. Tomorrow she'd tackle Charms – it would take her the longest.

If she managed to get it all done and finish the extra practice assignments Mad-Eye had cleared with Dromeda, maybe she'd be back in her aunt's good graces enough to be allowed to go to Diagon Alley next week or so.

She needed to come up with a birthday present for Harry, after all.

Deep in thought, she didn't notice the black owl at first – until the bird pecked her leg, clearly annoyed.

"A bit late for mail, isn't it?" she mumbled but took the package, pulling some owl snack out of her pocket. At home, she always had them at hand. The bird hooted its thanks before taking flight again.

Marina ripped the outer layer of paper away and two letters fell into her lap. She gasped when she recognised the handwriting. Knowing full well it would get her into trouble with Dromeda, she opened it regardless.

" _Dear Marina,_

 _I am aware that my sister has more than likely warned you against me – and with good reason. I have no excuse for my husband's actions during the war, nor for my inaction. I also know that my son seems to take after Lucius, despite my efforts._

 _Whether you believe me or not, my young cousin, it was never my intention to break with my sister. My actions were commanded by masters more powerful than I; and my son remains my priority._

 _That said, Draco has brought to my attention that you do not seem to know your father's fate. While I can well imagine Andromeda's reasons for keeping you in the dark, perhaps you would be willing to accept my peace offering: the truth about what happened to my cousin ten years ago._

 _I do not wish to anger my sister more than I am afraid I already have, but I feel that this might be my way of making amends, at least with you and your father – without incurring my husband's anger._

 _However I should warn you: sometimes the truth is not as much of a blessing as one might think. And however ludicrous I may find the official record, it is what the world believes. Also, if you choose to accept my token, Andromeda will no doubt be crossed with you as well. So choose wisely, Marina._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Your Cousin Narcissa"_

Not in a million years would she have seen that coming. She knew the family history of course: Andromeda, Bellatrix and Narcissa were the three Black sisters born to Cygnus Black and his wife Druella, née Rosier.

Dromeda had run away with Ted and had therefore been disowned as a blood-traitor.

Bellatrix, the lunatic of the family, had married Rodolphus Lestrange and the couple had been among the first to join Voldemort.

Narcissa however had been the level-headed one. She'd acquiesced to her parents' demand to marry Lucius Malfoy – and everything had gone downhill from there. Dromeda refused to talk about her, but everyone else seemed to think she'd had no choice but to follow Lucius down his dark path, as both her parents had been dead at that point and she'd had nowhere else to go. Also, according to even Mad-Eye she had never killed or tortured anyone. She was the wife of a Death Eater, but she'd never been one herself.

There was not an ounce of deception she sensed on the parchment. On the contrary, all she sensed was sincerity and heartache. Knowing that didn't make the choice any easier, though. Narcissa was right. If she opened that package, Dromeda would be furious.

Hoping to clear things up, Marina opened the second letter.

" _Ms Black,_

 _It has been quite some time since last someone dared talk to me the way you did in Diagon Alley. I'm afraid you caught me off guard. However, I should have told you that you are right of course; mostly. While I do not know how I will ever reconcile with Jupiter, my brother and I still have one thing in common: to protect our children above all else. I have failed in that regard once, as I suspect you already know, but I will not fail again. Theodore will not pay for my actions as his brother did._

 _Therefore I wish to offer you my gratitude. Foolish words have been spoken by much older men (and women) and I count myself lucky to have witnessed such wise words from a young witch._

 _Imagine my surprise, albeit a pleasant one, when your cousin Narcissa Malfoy sent me an owl with a favour to ask. She could not very well ask Lucius, but my position in the ministry allows me similar access. I acquiesced to her request and obtained the information she asked me for._

 _I feel that I should caution you however: you might not like the truth you seek to find. It will undoubtedly leave you with more questions than answers, at best. I wish you all the best._

 _Yours Faithfully,_

 _Benjamin Nott"_

Just when she'd thought it couldn't get much weirder.

The way she saw it, Marina had two options:

She could ignore the both of them and set the package on fire. Then she'd most likely never know what had happened to her father, seeing as Dromeda had once again refused any answer the days before.

Or she could risk it and take the information Narcissa and Benjamin were offering, at the risk of angering Dromeda permanently.

But, she decided with a very heavy heart, she had enough. Her friends and guardians had spent years ignoring her questions. They'd had more than their share of chances to tell her.

With that in mind, Marina ripped open the package and found a file.

"Prisoner XY-390," she read out loud, frowning. "Location: solitary confinement, high security ward, Azkaban. Crimes: murder of 12 muggles on October 31st 1981..."

She broke off with a choked sob. The night her mum had died. Marina turned the page with the aurors' report and found a picture of the prisoner. Hot tears streamed down her face at the sight of her father, mutely straining against the hands and chains holding him.

She could still recognise the teenager she'd seen in her mum's journals, the young man at James and Lily's wedding; or maybe that was just because she knew it was him.

Desperation gleamed in his haunted eyes that reflected a loss she could barely comprehend.

"Daddy," she sobbed, her heart breaking at the thought of the one secret she'd kept from everyone; Carmen, Dromeda, simply everyone. Her father had left her letter before leaving her and her mother to fight Voldemort. It was the only thing she had of him, drenched in his essence and the emotion he'd poured into that letter.

With another look at the mug-shot, she completely broke down crying.

* * *

 _ **An hour later...**_

Once she'd calmed down a little, she read the file. With every line she got angrier.

Sirius Black had been sent to Azkaban, _without a bloody trial_ , after aurors had discovered him at the scene of a massacre. Muggle witnesses had claimed that a man fitting the description of Peter Pettigrew had screamed that her father had betrayed the Potters and her Dad had subsequently blown him up.

All they'd found of Peter was a finger and her father had been laughing hysterically. He'd been sent to Azkaban for the twelve dead muggles, the murder of Pettigrew and the betrayal of the Potters. No one had even once asked him what had happened.

Marina, on the other hand, knew exactly what had happened.

In his letter to her three year-old self he'd apologised for the fact that it might well be years before they'd see each other again. He'd explained in great detail why, before handing the letter to her mother so she'd give it to Marina when she was old enough to understand.

Her father would _never_ have betrayed James.

What made her even angrier though, was the fact that not even Dromeda, her father's favourite cousin, or Remus, his bloody best friend, had visited him. The entire wizarding world had simply accepted his guilt.

Now she was sitting there, in Dromeda's backyard, fuming and wondered just how she was going to free her father. Somehow she doubted it would be as simple as blowing up his cell.

"Look who we found," Dromeda suddenly sounded behind her and Marina turned to find that the entire entourage had stopped by once more. They'd been doing it since she'd come home for the holidays. But for once, she was glad.

Not bothering to hide anything she stood and noted that everyone's eyes widened in shock at her tear-stained face.

"Marina, what-?" Remus started, taking a step forward.

Without a word, she tossed the file at their feet, the mug-shot on top.

If she hadn't been hurting and so bloody angry, she might have laughed as they all froze as if hit by a body-lock.

Dromeda paled almost dangerously, but right that second Marina couldn't bring herself to care. She was kind of surprised there was no steam coming out of her ears. The rest looked gobsmacked.

"Where... where did you get that?" Dromeda asked weakly once she'd composed herself.

"Funny you should ask," Marina countered, her voice still thick with tears. "Narcissa sends her regards."

Immediately, the woman's face clouded over but Marina found herself up holding her hand.

"Don't," she said sharply, the hurt giving away to anger again. "I had no intention of believing her, you know. But I didn't sense deceit on her letter so I opened the second one. Imagine my surprise when Benjamin Nott wrote that he was the one who'd gotten the file as a favour to Narcissa. Ironically enough, they both warned me that I wouldn't like what I'd find."

"Now, lass, listen..." Mad-Eye started but she cut him off too.

"No. For years, I've been asking you to tell me what had happened to Dad. And for years you've all been ignoring that. Exactly what is the world coming to that Narcissa Malfoy and Benjamin Nott tell me the truth but none of you will?"

"We wanted to spare you," Jupiter replied quietly. Marina stared at him incredulously. Her eyes darted from one person to the next and that's when it dawned: they really, truly believed her father was guilty.

"How could you possibly believe he'd betray James?" she whispered, staring at the lot of them. "I only have my memories from when I was three. But I bloody well know he's innocent."

Pity and sympathy crossed their collective features in equal measure. Interestingly enough though, she didn't sense any of that from Dromeda and Remus. In fact, they sensed almost proud at her belief.

"Marina, he was tried and convicted," Bianca said sympathetically. It was almost a relief to see the aghast expression on Carmen's face. At least her best friend hadn't been lying to her.

"Actually, he was not," Marina snapped and pointed at the file. "He never got a trial. They never gave him veritaserum, otherwise they would bloody _know_ he's innocent!"

Mad-Eye paled at her words – she hadn't thought he was capable of it anymore.

David too looked shocked beyond compare and bent to pick up the file. He flipped through it, able to read auror-speak a lot faster than Marina and blanched as her confirmed her accusations.

"She's right," he told the others, visibly appalled. "He never got his day in court."

"One of the ministry's very own Hit Wizards, a member of the Order in the fight against Voldemort – and no one ever even talked to him?" Carmen asked, disgust colouring her voice.

"We thought he..." Kingsley, very wisely, didn't finish.

"So let me get this straight:," Marina glowered, "he loses his best friends and the mother of his child in one foul swoop, and then gets locked up for things he did not do, consequently losing his daughter and his godson as well. And he's been rotting in Azkaban, surrounded by dementors, ever since. That sum it up?"

Dementors were the vilest creatures on this earth. They lived off people's misery and could literally suck all happiness right out of you. That was the reason most inmates went insane. And her innocent father had been forced to endure that for a decade.

"I tried to see him," Remus confessed quietly. "But the new anti-werewolf laws forbid a lycanthrope from visiting an inmate."

And no one would listen to a werewolf because people were stupid. They only saw the monster, not the man. Remus might turn furry once a month but the rest of the time he was just as much a wizard as anyone else. Instead of helping the infected, wizarding society shunned them.

"I filed to have the incident reinvestigated and Sirius questioned again," Dromeda spoke up. "But I was told categorically that it would never happen."

"They didn't want anyone to find out he'd never _been_ questioned," Carmen realised.

"Crouch," Mad-Eye, who had finally recovered himself, growled.

Marina smirked, tears still glistening on her lashes.

"Let's see how they do with his distressed daughter. Either way I am clearing his name."

She turned on her heels and marched inside, mentally forming a plan. She would free her father, if it was the last thing she did. But she had to hurry. After all, she only had two months before school started again...


	9. The Truth Hurts (II)

_**August 4, 1992**_

Marina was worried. Actually, that didn't even begin to describe how she was feeling.

The Tonks family owl had brought back Harry's birthday present with an irritated hoot, and she knew that neither Ron nor Hermione had heard from him all summer either. Given everything Harry had told her about the Dursleys, and all the stuff he hadn't but she was assuming, that was not good. The muggles treated him like an outcast in what was supposed to be his own home.

She had told Dromeda all this, but had been ordered to stay out of it.

Dora had offered to apparate her to where Harry lived, and Marina had been sorely tempted, but it would get her cousin in trouble with Mad-Eye – who had also told her not to mess with Dumbledore's arrangements.

Not that she'd been speaking to Mad-Eye lately. After her initial breakdown, she'd read through her father's file carefully. That was when she'd discovered that the auror in charge of the arrest had been none other than Alastor Moody. She'd refused to see him since.

Maybe she was being childish, but Mad-Eye had been a member of the Order too, had fought side by side with her father, and yet hadn't deemed it necessary to actually talk to her Dad.

For that very same reason, she wasn't feeling charitable towards Albus Dumbledore. The great and wise wizard who always gave people a second chance, even the likes of Severus _Snape_ , but hadn't bothered to verify that her father was actually guilty – or had received his trial.

Remus, she had given more leeway. As a werewolf, there wasn't much he could have done and he'd been in France that Hallowe'en and two weeks after.

As for Dromeda... Marina didn't know how to feel. While her cousin clearly knew her Dad was innocent, she'd given up pretty quickly after being shot down the first time.

Then there was Narcissa. Now that was a wrinkle if she'd ever seen one. Her cousin was married to Lucius Malfoy, a Death Eater. And while everyone was pretty convinced she wasn't one herself, she sure hadn't stopped Lucius from raising a pure-blood fanatic like himself. But then, who had Narcissa been supposed to ask for help? Dromeda didn't speak to her, their other sister was in prison, and no one else on the right side would ever support a Malfoy.

Marina, feeling somewhat charitable since it had been Narcissa that had finally clued her in as to her father's fate, had sent her a _Thank You_ but hadn't signed it so the woman wouldn't get into trouble with her husband and his friends.

Her best friend, Carmen Nott, had been a blessing the entire month. She had intercepted all attempts from the adults to stop Marina from obsessing and supported her in the, borderline obsessive, desire to clear her father's name and get him back. Of course, that sounded a lot easier than it was.

She had nothing in the way of actual prove, and somehow she didn't think the Ministry would accept a dead woman's journals as a character witness – even if the deceased had been the mother of the accused's child.

Her parents had never been married, which wasn't so surprising, seeing as Marina had been an accident during their last year in Hogwarts. They'd both stepped up to the responsibility, and they'd loved Marina very much, but... her father had never loved her mother. He'd cared for her but it had never been love. That was the one depressing thing about those journals; her mother had been very much aware that her feelings hadn't been reciprocated.

Either way, no one would listen on that basis. As for the letter her Dad had left her toddler-self... it had been enough to convince the Notts, Mad-Eye and Kingsley but the Ministry? Marina doubted it.

So they were all stuck with plan B: force the Ministry to rectify their mess and give her father the trial he should have gotten almost eleven years ago.

But it had to be done _very_ carefully. Four aurors and a slew of civilians would not be enough to sway the minister on sheer conviction and attitude.

Marina was their ace up the sleeve; even bureaucrats wouldn't be able to refuse a demand for a veritaserum testimony so that Black's traumatised daughter could get closer. Her mind-healer, Teresa, was on board as well.

Even with a dozen strategies laid out carefully, it would take time though.

The man responsible for her Dad's unlawful imprisonment, Bartemius Crouch, had been transferred after the war – mostly, because his own son had turned out to be a Death Eater of the worst order. So while not quite as popular as he'd once been, before sending his own son to Azkaban, Crouch still had a lot of political weight in the Ministry.

Carmen had, very hesitantly, suggested to ask Dumbledore for help. And while neither Marina nor Remus were particularly inclined to trust him with this matter at this point, they also knew that they might well need him; he was Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot after all.

Long story short, it was likely that months would pass before anything would happen to exonerate her father. And she was still and underage student, so there was nothing Marina personally could do.

Well, except the plan they'd come up with as last resort: to go to the press.

It would make the Ministry look horribly incompetent, would almost definitely get Mad-Eye, Kingsley, David and Dora in trouble or even fired, and would make the minister very mad at Marina and anyone who'd helped her.

It would be so much easier, she mused, if the Ministry would just listen. Or better yet, if they could get their hands on the rat. But seeing as Pettigrew had stayed hidden for over ten years, it was highly unlikely they would just stumble over him now.

But before anything happened whatsoever, Marina needed to tell Harry all of it. If he came back to Hogwarts and heard the rumours... And the Slytherins were bound to spill the beans to get Harry mad at her.

Telling Harry would just require actually getting in touch with him.

Last night, she'd gotten Ted to promise her that if Ron didn't hear from him by the time their Hogwarts letters arrived, they'd go and check on him.

"Marina!" Carmen's voice startled her out of her convoluted thoughts.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise, hugging the brunette in greeting. "I thought you were visiting Trish." Patricia Stimpson was one very ambitious Ravenclaw and the only one better than Carmen in class.

"I was. I got back this morning," Carmen confirmed. "But never mind that right now. Did you hear what the Weasleys pulled last night?"

* * *

 _ **August 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1992**_

Marina had been shocked when Carmen had told her how the twins and their brother Ron had flown their father's enchanted car halfway across the country to rescue Harry from his relatives. She was still torn between terror, humour and gratitude.

Terror because just about _everything_ could have gone wrong; from crashing the car, to accidentally hurting someone, to being seen by muggles.

Humour because, really, who but the Weasleys could have come up with that? And would have been brave enough to risk Molly's ire?

And gratitude because they had done what Marina couldn't.

It's not like she hadn't considered ignoring Dromeda's instructions, but her cousin must have suspected just that, because Marina had never been left unsupervised this month.

She was kind of surprised that they hadn't all been grounded. Unfortunately, she suspected it had to do with the state Harry was in. Even Molly Weasley couldn't have stayed mad for long once she saw the condition he was most likely in.

Marina would soon find out, as she was getting ready to floo to The Burrow.

"Are you sure you want to do this today?" Ted asked her as Dromeda was very much against just that and refused to see her off.

"He needs to know," she nodded with a sigh. "It's only a matter of time before some Slytherin says something about how he's friends with the daughter of the man who betrayed his parents. I don't ever want him to believe that."

Her Hogwarts letter had arrived today, so he'd received his too. The Weasleys would take him shopping in Diagon Alley and Ted had asked them to take Marina along. Really, though, it was just an excuse for her to only have to tell her story once today.

The second letter that another owl had brought her was from Mad-Eye. Apparently, she'd succeeded in thoroughly guilt-tripping him. The grouch had somehow managed to get special permission to visit her father and had talked to him.

Part of her was furious he hadn't brought her along – but even she knew that Azkaban was no place for a fourteen year-old.

Whatever had been said in that hell-hole, Mad-Eye was now firmly convinced that she was right and her Dad was innocent. He'd subsequently gone to meet Kingsley, so they could sort out together just how they were going to make things right.

Additionally, he'd added a piece of parchment that was charmed so she couldn't read it; it was supposed to assure the Weasleys, and anyone else she might decide to tell, that she was telling the truth.

"I'm not looking forward to this, let me tell you," she confessed. "Mr and Mrs Weasley only know and believe the official story. The moment I mention Dad they are going to try and stop me."

"You can do this," Ted said confidently. "You managed to get Alastor to fess up to his screw-up."

"Right. So I'll see you at dinner."

She took a fistful of floo powder and stepped into the furnace. Travelling by floo was handy, but it was messy. She tossed the powder into the flames, said loudly, " _The Burrow!_ " and hung on.

Instantly, she was spinning in place so fast she was getting dizzy and a hundred different exits passed her by. Thankfully, you always stumbled out the right exit if you spoke clearly.

Case in point, when she tumbled out somebody else's furnace, she immediately found herself surrounded by seven redheads and a smaller black haired person.

"Hello there, dear," Mrs Weasley greeted her warmly and waved her wand to clear Marina's robes of soot.

"Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley," she nodded politely in turn and grinned the twin's way.

She oomphed in surprise when Harry hugged her hard. He was, once again, too thin and his skin didn't look like he'd been outside at all.

"I thought we were going to see you in Diagon Alley," he said, smiling, and backed away.

"That was the plan," Marina agreed, a nervous flutter tightening her stomach. "But I need to talk to all of you before we leave."

The collective kids present frowned but sat back down at the kitchen table. Mr and Mrs Weasley on the other hand scrutinised her.

She pulled out Mad-Eye's bewitched piece of parchment, along with a written explanation from Dromeda – who had only been against Marina telling them _today_ – and handed it all to her friends' parents.

"You're going to want to stop me, Mrs Weasley," she said quietly, knowing how protective the woman was of her kids. "But I need your kids to know the truth. I need _Harry_ to know."

The two adults read both parchments, paling so much Mr Weasley's freckles stood out, and then looked at each other silently.

"Go ahead," Mr Weasley eventually said. "We won't interrupt." She wasn't positive that was a promise he could keep, but she nodded and looked at the impatient teenagers.

"Okay, guys... I'm going to tell you a story. And please don't interrupt – it's hard enough as it is." They all nodded their agreement, curious what she was talking about. Ginny didn't even blush, sitting close to Harry.

Marina couldn't look at him while doing this, so she walked over to the window and looked at the family's large garden. Then she began.

"About twenty years ago, there were four Gryffindors in Hogwarts. From the very start they became best friends. Everything they did, they did together – most of which drove the teachers round the bend. They were inseparable.

So when three of the four found out that the fourth was a werewolf, they didn't turn their backs on him like everybody else would have done. Instead, they decided they wanted to be there for him during the full moon too. But the only way to do that, was to become animagi."

She heard whispering and assumed that somebody was explaining to Harry what an animagus was.

"It took them a while but they figured out how to do it in their fifth year. Impressive, when you think about it, especially since Dumbledore never had any clue," she said and turned around because for the next part, she had to look at Harry.

She'd given him another one of her mother's journals in the train back home, so the names would mean something to him.

"Peter Pettigrew turned into a rat, small enough to freeze the Whomping Willow by touching a knot at the roots. Remus Lupin, the wolf, would already be at the other end of the tunnels in the Shrieking Shack. Sirius Black-"

The Weasley kids all gasped but their father held up a hand to silence them. Mrs Weasley stayed quiet too.

"Sirius Black, my father, turned into a big black dog. And the last of their foursome turned into a stag. Your father, Harry. James Potter."

As per usual when getting any information on his parents, Harry was listening with rapt attention. Marina had actually not known what animal James had turned into – her mum had never written about it – but Mad-Eye had included that titbit in his letter. He had got most of the story she was telling from her father.

"As you can imagine, with a friendship like that, they stayed best friends even after Hogwarts. They all joined the Order of the Phoenix too – an organisation that fought Voldemort and that Dumbledore founded back then.

Remus, as a werewolf, always had a hard time finding work because the wizarding world is bigoted and stupid. Anyway, he always travelled a lot. Peter got an administrative position in the Department for Magical Transportation. And James and Dad joined the Auror Office."

Again, Ron leaned over and hissed into Harry's ear what an auror did for a living.

"For a few years, everything was fine. Well, as fine as things were likely to be in the middle of war. Then Lily got pregnant and James resigned from active duty. Dad was there the day you were born," she added with a smile for Harry. "He was the first to hold you after your parents."

Thinking of the depressing rest of the story, Marina lost her smile and turned away again.

"Then, sometime in 1981, Dumbledore received information that Voldemort would be coming after James and Lily, for some reason. They decided to go into hiding. Only a handful of people knew where they were. But it still wasn't enough for Lily, not with her son at risk. So they decided to use the Fidelius Charm."

"It's a spell that effectively hides your location," Mr Weasley explained, no doubt in reaction to his children's questioning faces. "Even when you know exactly where the house is, standing right in front of it, you wouldn't find it."

"The spell requires something called a Secret Keeper," Marina continued. "You don't cast the spell on the house, you see. You cast it on a person; a person that effectively is the only one who can find you. So naturally, you pick someone you trust with your life and the lives of your family."

"They picked your Dad," one of the twins said surprisingly gently.

"That was the plan," she nodded, still not looking at anyone. "Dad would sooner have died than betray James and Lily, so it was perfect. James went to inform Dumbledore, so the Order wouldn't panic once they couldn't be found anymore. As far as the world was concerned, Dad was their Secret Keeper."

Marina turned around, her eyes burning with tears she refused to shed.

"But while James was gone, Dad was running some errands – and crossed paths with his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange."

This time, the entire family Weasley gasped in shock. Harry looked around, confused.

"Dad has three cousins, Harry. The oldest, Andromeda, ran away and married a muggle-born. She and Ted are my guardians. Bellatrix is the middle sister and she married a pure-blood, Rodolphus Lestrange. They were among the first to join Voldemort," she explained. "And Bellatrix is without any doubt the worst of them all. She's a complete lunatic, utterly insane, and absolutely loyal to her Lord and Master." Marina figured she had no business telling them about the Longbottoms. It was up to Neville when, or if, he would tell his story.

"Dad fought Bellatrix that day, but they were equally good at duels. She taunted him about what she and her friends were going to do to Lily and James once they found them. She said he couldn't protect them, not from her. Then she got away."

At this point Marina wondered is maybe she should've asked Ginny to go upstairs; the poor girl looked terrified.

"Bella might be crazy-," she forced out, "-but Dad was worried that she might have a point. It was common knowledge that he was James' best friend after all. The Death Eaters would surely come after him once they figured out they'd used the Fidelius."

A tear escaped and she brushed it away hastily – she'd done enough crying over this to last two lifetimes.

"So Dad, in his less than genius moment, came up with a plan: James and Lily would tell everyone, Dumbledore included, that he was Secret Keeper but would really use someone else."

She could literally see the impact of those words; the kids looked at each other, shocked. Mr and Mrs Weasley looked somewhat suspicious but she could easily sense guilt creeping through their composure.

Harry just seemed very confused.

"James and Lily agreed to that idiocy, which left them with the dilemma who to use. Remus was in France, looking for work, so he was out. Naturally, they settled on the next closest friend they had: Peter Pettigrew," Marina bit out, a rush of anger welling. "Dad thought it was a brilliant idea. He would play decoy and lead the Death Eaters on a wild pixie chase, meanwhile Peter would be safe and, consequently, so would James and Lily."

She took a step forward and gripped the back of a chair so she wouldn't punch something.

"No one saw coming what happened next.

Dad went home and told mum the plan, wrote a good-bye letter to me and then left, ready to play bait. James and Lily, knowing what it would cost them all, invited Mum and me to come with them. And then... well, you all know. At Hallowe'en, Voldemort found them and... yeah."

They so didn't need to have that conversation right now.

"The only way a Fidelius can be broken is when the Secret Keeper fails to do his job and spills his guts," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Or, like in Peter's case, is a spy and traitor and sells out his best friends to save his own worthless skin."

Realisation dawned on Harry's face but Marina kept going. She had to finish it or she wasn't entirely sure she'd ever work up the nerve for it again.

"That very night, Dad decided to check on Peter and say goodbye before he left the country. Except when he got there, Peter wasn't home. He got a very bad feeling and went to check on your parents – he'd been told the location, of course. When he arrived there... it was too late."

Her knuckles were turning white from the force she was gripping the chair with.

"He found the two of us in your crib – I actually remember that. He was waving his wand in what I'm assuming were Healing Charms. Then Hagrid showed up and they argued – and then Dad handed us both over."

No one moved a muscle. They just stared at her and waited for the rest of it.

"And then, well aware of what had happened, he went after Peter. But when he found and confronted him, Peter screamed for the entire street to hear that _Dad_ had betrayed Lily and James, before the coward blew up the main gas line of the street and killed twelve muggles in the process."

Mrs Weasley looked miserable by now and Mr Weasley was visibly shaken – the man worked for the Ministry after all.

"By the time the aurors got there, looking for Dad, Pettigrew was gone. The muggles were dead and Dad was kneeling on the ground, a lump at the size of a melon on his head, and laughing hysterically."

Everyone looked confused by that.

"The auror in charge wrote in his report that Dad was clearly in shock and not up for questioning. So they put him in a cell until he calmed down and started looking for the rat. All they found was a finger.

According to Dad, the coward cut it off himself before blowing up the street and changing into a rat, disappearing into the sewers."

"Wouldn't the Ministry know he's an animagus?" Ron, apparently unable to keep quiet any longer, asked.

"Normally, yes. But Peter, James and Dad became animagi without permission – they never registered."

"Why didn't your Dad say that?" Ginny asked shyly.

Marina smiled but it was not a happy one.

"Because, after they couldn't find Pettigrew and Dumbledore testified that Dad had been Secret Keeper... they sent Dad to Azkaban without ever questioning him. He never got a trial."

"Are you sure?" Mr Weasley asked her sharply while his wife had gone pasty white. Everyone in the room, except Harry, knew what Azkaban was like.

"Very. Don't ask me how, but I got my hands on the official file. They locked him up, threw away the key and never bothered to make sure he was actually guilty. My father has been rotting in Azkaban for almost eleven years, for things he did not do."

"Why didn't he break out?" Harry asked, oblivious to the looks the others shot him.

"It's not like a muggle prison, Harry. There is no escaping Azkaban. Especially considering they took his wand – which they never tested," she added grumpily. If they had, they would have seen he'd never blown up the street.

She gave them all a minute to process the several bludgers she'd just dropped on them.

"So what now?" Fred... or George... asked.

"Politics," she replied with a grimace. "Knowing Dad is innocent is one thing, proving it is apparently another. All we have is mum's journals, the letter Dad wrote me, and a lot of assumptions – and, of course, Dad's version.

Dromeda, Remus and a slew of others, don't ask, are trying to get the Ministry to reopen the case and question Dad under veritaserum. It would be the easiest way. But to get them to do it..."

"What can we do?" Ron questioned, ignoring the pointed looks his parents shot him. Marina smiled.

"Nothing. Neither can I, for that matter. We're all underage, as much as I hate to say it, so it's up to the adults. I've guilt-tripped them all, though, so they are getting him out somehow. It's just going to take time." _As if he hadn't suffered long enough already._

"Until then-," she said brightly, attempting to lighten the mood, "-we're all going back to Hogwarts. So some shopping is in order."

"Why don't you get your lists, children?" Mr Weasley suggested, none-too-subtle. Everybody with red hair jumped up, hurrying upstairs.

Harry didn't. He came over to her and, obviously not knowing what to do, put a hand over hers.

"I wish I could help," he told her quietly.

"There is something I didn't say," she admitted. "Mostly because I don't want to get your hopes up. If Dromeda and the others can't free him, it doesn't matter anyway."

"I can handle it." She smiled at the defiant tone.

"James and Lily made Dad your godfather," she told him and almost gasped at the painful burst of hope she could suddenly sense from him.

"Harry..."

She had no idea how to caution him; she was just as bad.

Mrs Weasley stood close by, a stoic expression on her face that didn't fit her personality at all, and watched them. But Marina could sense the woman's anguish on her behalf.

"We beat Voldemort," Harry replied to her unspoken concern. "We can get your Dad out."

It was hard to argue with that, even when she was pretty sure that _he_ had beaten Voldemort.

"Let's go," she smiled and ruffled his messy black hair. "I'll buy you a scone at _Fortescue's_."

* * *

 _ **Diagon Alley**_

After they'd gotten their money at Gringotts – which had been an uncomfortable affair for Harry and Marina alike, since they'd both inherited a fortune – and had bought the essentials, like quills, ink and parchment, they'd herded into _Flourish & Blotts_.

That had been rather mortifying.

Following Lockhart's forced photo shoot with Harry, they couldn't escape the other students' laughter. Marina had drawn their attention so Harry could make a run for it. Now she rather regretted that.

Her godbrother's conversation with Draco's father had ended with Mr Weasley and Lucius brawling.

Right now, they were all hurrying along. That was when Marina spotted her cousin.

Like her husband, Narcissa had bright blonde hair and was always poised. Where Lucius radiated arrogance, she was aloof.

While Marina had sensed nothing but disgust and menace off Lucius, she could sense determination and... loneliness from Narcissa.

Making a spur of the moment decision, she hung back from the group and walked over to Dromeda's sister.

"You shouldn't do that," Narcissa advised her, looking up the street.

"Lucius is busy complaining to the manager. He and Mr Weasley..."

"Ah, yes. I have seldom seen Lucius as animated as when speaking of Arthur Weasley."

"Draco will end up just like him unless you do something, Narcissa," Marina told her cousin bluntly. The woman blinked, startled.

"There is nothing more I _can_ do," she countered.

"Leave Lucius," Marina suggested. "And don't tell me you love him because that's just not true."

"Draco would stay with his father."

Unfortunately, that was probably true.

"Marina!" one of the Weasley twins yelled and she turned around to find the entire group gaping at her.

"You should take your leave," Narcissa said softly. "Your friends worry about the company you keep."

"It's never too late, Cissy," she said, clearly surprising the woman by using the nickname Dromeda and her Dad had called her.

Then she rejoined the Weasleys, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"She's the third sister," she explained when Harry kept looking at her. "The youngest. Her parents made her marry Lucius Malfoy. And when everything went to hell in a hand basket, her parents were dead and her sister wasn't speaking to her. Narcissa had nowhere to go. Then she realised she was pregnant and... well."

Harry didn't comment but he clearly thought she was nuts. Maybe she was.

They went to buy supplies for their pets, even though both of them mostly fed themselves by hunting, and got their new robes.

After all that, they said goodbye at the furnace in the Leaky Cauldron. Marina would floo straight home, while Harry would go back with the Weasleys until Hogwarts started. When they hugged, she slipped him a copy of her father's letter. She'd been debating that for days, but he deserved to read it. Then they all left.

* * *

 _[_ _ **Sirius Letter to Marina**_ _]_

" _My dear Marina,_

 _It is hard to believe it's already been three years since you were born. But there you are, smiling and talking to your mother – sort of. You are the best thing I ever had, and did, in my life._

 _I remember the day your Mum told me she was pregnant. I had never been so scared in my life. Your Uncle James laughed at me. Prongs still teases me about it, come to think of it. He always said I would make a great father. I hope he was right. You're really the only one who can judge that. I really hope I'll be around when you do. But maybe I won't be. I apologise for that. I have no idea when you will read this letter, whether I'll be there to explain or not. I don't know if you're still my Kitten, or maybe a teenager already. I trust Rose to decide when you're ready. If I'm not there, I am so sorry. I would give anything to help you grow up, baby-girl, but if I can't, let me explain why:_

 _By now, I'm sure your Mum has told you all about Lord Voldemort. He is the most evil wizard to ever have walked this Earth, Kitten. And for some reason, he has decided that he wants to hurt Harry. Uncle Prongs and Aunt Lily won't let that happen of course – and neither will I. They will hide from Voldemort and his Death Eaters – and they have invited your Mum and you to join them. Everybody will think I am the only one who knows where you are. That was my idea, actually. While the bad guys will be busy looking for me, Uncle Peter will be safe – and he's the Secret Keeper that knows where you will be. Ask your Mum or Uncle Prongs what I mean by that._

 _But the plan will only work if everybody, including Uncle Moony, thinks that I'm the Keeper of their Secret. I hate lying to him, Kitten, I do. But it's the only way to keep Harry safe._

 _And that is why I have to leave, baby-girl. I will lead the Death Eaters far away so Uncle Peter will stay safe and, by extension, so will all of you. I don't know how long I will have to stay away._

 _If this takes longer than I hope it will, look after your Mum for me. And tell Uncle Prongs that none of this is his or Aunt Lily's fault. I volunteered after all._

 _Please don't ever think I chose Harry over you, Kitten. Please don't be mad at any of them. But I love your godbrother too, just like I love his parents. Grown-ups are complicated that way, believe me._

 _Be a good big sister to Harry, Kitten. You two already love each other a lot._

 _Hopefully this entire letter will be for nothing and I will be back home before you're old enough for your Mum to give it to you._

 _But if not, know this:_

 _I love you, Marina, more than my life. I will gladly hand it away if it means you are safe. So if I don't make it home at all, know that your father died to keep the people he loved the most safe. I love you._

 _Always,_

 _Dad"_


	10. Visiting

_**July 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1993**_

Marina still couldn't believe this was happening. How in the world Mad-Eye had managed to make this happen was beyond her. But here she was, fifteen years old, and at the gates of Azkaban. She wasn't sure what surprised her more: that he'd gotten the Ministry to allow this... or Dromeda.

It had been a year since she'd found out that her father was a prisoner within those wall. And in all that time, the Ministry had been predictably reluctant to listen. They didn't want to admit to their mistake – because it would make them look more than just incompetent to have to tell the world that they had locked up an innocent man; one of their own aurors no less.

After last year's disaster, Fudge wouldn't have to worry much though. Dumbledore and the Board of Governors looked just as bad after a basilisk had roamed the school and petrified muggle-born students.

Marina had almost fainted when Harry had told her, after weeks, that he was hearing a voice in the wall that no one else seemed to hear. After seeing his Parseltongue in action, combined with Hagrid's dead roosters and the mass exodus of spiders... Carmen had come up pretty quickly with the king of snakes. Just as Marina had gone to tell McGonagall their suspicions, Hermione had been petrified.

She'd known full well at that point that Harry would not stay put and sit on his hands; not with his best friend turned into a statue.

Then Lucius – and she would still love to hex him for it – had removed Dumbledore from office.

All in all, it had been a spectacular mess all around. By the time she'd finally had a chance to tell McGonagall what was in the Chamber, Ginny had been kidnapped. But, to Marina's absolute horror, she hadn't been alone. Tyler Nott, in a valiant effort, had apparently tried to rescue her. His wand, which had been found next to Ginny's, had shown basic offensive spells.

Consequently, for the first time as long as Marina had known her, Carmen had lost her head. Her friend had gone and joined Harry and Ron in their off-the-books effort to rescue the latter's sister. When McGonagall had told her that they would close the school – basically giving up on Ginny and Ty – Marina had joined her friends and they'd descended into the Chamber. She still couldn't decide whether she was proud or horrified that the boys had found it.

Lockhart, the complete fraud, had obliviated himself by accident, bringing down half the roof on their heads in the process. As irony would have it, once again it had been Harry and Marina who had ended up facing Voldemort alone. Well, not exactly Voldemort; more like a shadow of himself – a memory wraith he had linked to his diary. Truth be told, given her mum's journals, that had really given her the creeps.

Then the heir of Slytherin had used his power and called his pet. Fighting a basilisk was not easy, given the fact that you couldn't look at him. But Marina had used the Glacio Charm, which was rapidly becoming her favourite spell ever, and frozen the beast – aiming over her shoulder, no less. The ice had effectively covered the eyes, blinding the creature.

Snakes needed heat, so the cold had slowed the damn thing enough for Harry to jump down Slytherin's statue and drive the Sword of Gryffindor through its head.

Voldemort, aka Tom Riddle, had not been pleased but he hadn't been fully corporeal yet. Arrogant as ever, he'd rambled on about how he'd make them pay and given Harry and her the same idea at the same time. She'd magicked one of the basilisk fangs out of the beast's skull and over to Harry, who had promptly driven it through Riddle's diary.

Then it had simply been a matter of getting the kids back upstairs and into the infirmary. Right about then the headmaster's phoenix, Fawkes, had shown up again and flown them out. McGonagall had apologised profoundly for dismissing Marina's information as she had believed, at the time, she'd only said it because she'd wanted Ty back.

Marina shook her head. A possessed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher two years ago, a bloody basilisk last year... Harry was certainly never bored at Hogwarts.

"You ready?" Mad-Eye rumbled beside her as they cleared the usual checking points.

The aurors had searched them and taken their wands. The last bit disturbed her but she knew better than to argue.

"Yes," she assured her grouchy escort again. "There is nothing they can make me see or hear that I don't already remember anyway."

He harrumphed but didn't stall any longer. He had resigned from the Ministry a few months ago, even from instructing, but only after he had convinced Fudge to sign special clearance for Marina to visit her father.

In the end it had taken Dumbledore's considerable, if gentle, influence for the minister to authorise a reopening of her Dad's case. The headmaster had been more than just disturbed after reading the letter and the last of her mother's journals. Her mum had known the real plan too and had written about it.

"The dementors will stay clear of you, Miss," the auror said reassuringly.

"You'll forgive me for only believing that when I see it," she muttered under her breath.

The auror was young, which was the point probably; at that age he couldn't have so many bad memories yet and wouldn't be as influenced by the prison's guards.

Mad-Eye nodded sharply and the auror moved to escort her inside. They'd agreed that she'd go in alone – but Mad-Eye and that magical eye of his would be watching. One wrong move from the dementors and he'd send in his patronus – obviously no one had told the auror that the grouch could somehow do magic with his cane too.

Azkaban was huge and the further in they got, the worse Marina felt. Part of her just wanted to turn on her heel and leave, especially when the prisoners realised that someone was there and started screaming for mercy.

Most of them didn't deserve any, she thought grimly, as she passed Bellatrix' cell. Her cousin was cackling like the lunatic she was, mumbling about her Lord's return.

"She's always like that," the auror commented when he noticed where she was looking.

"Lovely," Marina replied, deadpan. "Then again, she was like that before the dementors so..."

Marina had been repulsed by her relatives all over again when she'd found out exactly what Bella and Rodolphus had done to the Longbottoms. She'd known the basics but... there had been a witness.

Jupiter and Laura had left David and Carmen with them to have a night out, given that Bianca had been at school. Carmen and Neville, thank Merlin, had been fast asleep upstairs when the Lestranges had made their appearance.

But David, nine years old at the time, had been downstairs. Thankfully, his instincts had made him hide in the closet. Unfortunately, while it had spared him Bella's insane attention, he'd witnessed everything; how Bella, her husband, Rodolphus' brother and Barty Crouch Jr had tortured Frank and Alice with the Cruciatus until their minds had broken. But the worst part, David had told her, was that Bella had been _laughing_. Cackling like a hyena while she'd destroyed two good people in the name of her master.

"Your father's not like any of them," the auror said almost whimsically.

"That's probably because he's innocent."

It took almost twenty minutes to get to the part of the high security ward where they were holding him. It was a lot quieter down here but Marina could still hear the fruitcake cackling.

"The wards will only let you through for the next hour. A privacy shield has been erected," the auror said, still sounding somewhat gobsmacked about that.

Mad-Eye had really taken the minister to task.

Her stomach was in knots. The auror walked away and left her to go into the cell on her own. But instead of her father, she found a big black dog. She couldn't help but smile.

"Dad?" she asked hesitantly.

The dog visibly flinched and raised its head. Marina gasped. His eyes looked haunted and empty. Also, she realised with surprise, she couldn't sense much of his emotions.

Before she could come up with an explanation for that, her Dad changed back to human. He was wearing the same rotten prison garb as all the others did and was skin and bones. His grey eyes looked dull and lifeless, deeply sunken into his skull. He looked nothing like he had in her mother's memories within the journals. Twelve years in prison had turned his features waxen – and Marina knew that he used to have her prominent cheekbones, oval-ish face and weird thin-lipped smile. Their eyes had the same shape too, if not the same colour. Or at least they used to. Marina was appalled by the havoc Azkaban had wrought on the attractive man she'd seen at James and Lily's wedding.

She jumped when her Dad swore violently, his voice a painful rasp.

"You shouldn't be here!" he finished his rant, panting.

But now that he was back to human, she could sense his emotions just fine. Whether he thought it was a good idea or not, he was thrilled to see her.

"That's what Dromeda said," she smiled shakily and stepped further into the cell. "But Remus and Mad-Eye convinced her."

At the mention of his best friend, his heart jumped. _Dear Merlin_ , she could sense her Dad's feelings even better than others.

"This is no place for a-"

"If you say child-," she interrupted him dryly, "-I will smack you. I might be only fifteen but I haven't been a child, in that sense, in a while now."

And he really didn't need the details, at least not while he was still stuck in here and couldn't do anything about any of it.

"You just sounded like your mother," he mused almost wistfully.

"Did Mad-Eye tell you about her journals?" she asked and stopped in front of him.

Even slumped from strain, he was as tall as she'd imagined – she barely reached his shoulders.

"Yes. He told me everything that's happened since..."

He trailed of. Marina didn't particularly think it was because he didn't want to remember that Hallowe'en but because his mind was damaged if not broken. _Bloody dementors_. She reached out and brushed his too long hair out his face. He was going grey, she thought glumly. He was only thirty-four!

When she touched him, he snapped out of whatever fog his mind had drifted to.

"He also told me that you exploded all over Dromeda and the others," he chastised but his lips twitched a bit.

"I was angry," she admitted. "After years of getting lied to... and that anyone actually believed you would ever..." She cut herself off when she sensed the sharp bite of pain from him.

"And then I found out you hadn't gotten a trial and _really_ lost it," she added.

"Mad-Eye said it was Narcissa who told you?" her Dad asked, a growl sounding in his voice. It made him sound like the oversized canine he'd been a few minutes ago.

"I don't think she's that bad," Marina nodded, tentatively. "Lucius is, no question, but Narcissa... All I ever sense from her is the need to protect her spoiled brat of a son and... well, loneliness."

"Sense?" _Uh-oh_.

"I'm an empath," she said warily. "I thought Mad-Eye would have told you that."

"Nope. Must have slipped his mind." Marina snorted at that.

Her Dad actually managed a smile, of sorts – and pulled her into a hug so slowly, she knew her was giving her the chance to back away.

Tears burned her eyes when she hugged him back. Her own emotions were warring between joy – she was hugging her Dad! – and sadness – she'd seen and held broomsticks that felt more solid than her father. She could count his ribs, merely from hugging him, for Merlin's sake.

"I'm not so sure if I should tell you what's going on outside," she finally said, still firmly in her Dad's arms. "Good news might make you feel better. And with the dementors..."

They would suck anything positive right out of him again. And the more they fed on a person, the worse that person would get. Her father had managed to stay sane up until now, but if she gave the dementors something to feed on now... they might shatter his mind after all, before she got him out of there.

"What did the others say?"

"Well, Mad-Eye told me to keep my mouth shut. Remus was all for telling you – something along the lines of if you stayed sane this long, you could handle it. And Dromeda, ever the practical one, said to ask you."

"Well then, let's stick to the basics," he suggested and sat down on his... so-called bed, pulling her with him. "What subjects did you pick?"

"Care for Magical Creatures, Divination and Runes," she answered, smiling. It was a parental thing to ask – and not his style.

She knew that both her parents had picked Magical Creatures and he had chosen Runes too.

"Nice. How are you doing at them?"

"Runes is an Outstanding so far, as is Transfiguration, Astronomy and Potions by the way, the rest is Exceeds Expectations. Well... except History of Magic; only an Acceptable there. And I'm tutoring by best friend in Runes so she can take the O.W.L. too. I'm taking Muggle Studies as an extra – don't really need to study for that with Ted around." Dumbledore himself had approved the extra tests.

"You're as smart as your Mum then, hm?

"From what Mum wrote you weren't exactly stupid either," she replied. "Especially considering..."

She waved her hand in the direction of where he'd been curled up as an Irish Wolfhound.

Then she had a thought of what else she could tell him that, as a parent, would likely _not_ make him too happy.

"So... ehm... Mad-Eye might have... registered me at the Junior Duelling League," she said quietly. The British and Irish Duelling League wasn't nearly as large, or popular, as the Quidditch League but it was the second most important sport in their world. It wasn't just about winning, but about creativity during the duel and endurance – the record, at the final of the World Cup, had been two hours. Normally, duels lasted all of ten minutes, twenty tops. The Junior League only accepted entries with sponsors, as underage witches and wizards needed a special permission to use magic at all.

Marina had Mad-Eye, the Notts and Remus. That was plenty of adult supervision, she thought.

"He did what?" her Dad exclaimed on cue, sounding half outraged, half bemused.

"He's been... blaming himself for Mum for some reason, so he's been teaching me on the side for years. I know more offensive and defensive spells than any student has business knowing."

Not that she was complaining. If it hadn't been for the Ice Charm, Harry and she would most likely have been basilisk lunch.

"But the Duelling League is more than just casting."

"I've been practising with Bianca and David Nott," she grinned, still not moving a muscle. "Until Bianca got a job in Africa to finish her Mastery in Arithmancy, that is. David's an auror almost done with training so..."

"Andromeda still as close with them, then?"

"Yes, we all are. The best friend I mentioned? It's the Notts' second youngest child, Carmen."

Silence reigned for a minute or so. Marina knew what he would ask next before he did.

"How's Harry?" His voice had an awful longing in it, and she could sense a need in him; the need to make up for his perceived failure to protect James and Lily.

She was getting slightly unnerved on how well she could read his emotions.

"A typical Gryffindor," she replied dryly. "And he's playing Seeker." She could feel her Dad grin against her hair at that.

"So he's okay then?"

"He's... getting there," she answered, unwilling to lie. Her father tensed.

"What do you mean?" he asked sharply. Marina sighed.

"After... everything, Dumbledore left him with Lily's sister. Those muggles are awful, Dad. They hate everything about our world and they never wanted him. What Dumbledore was thinking when leaving him there, I will never understand." Blood protection or not.

"Are they... abusing him?" Outrage sounded in his voice and she didn't need empathy to sense the rising anger in him.

"Verbally, definitely. Physically... I don't know. Harry doesn't talk about it," she recounted. "But I do know they never told him what and who he is. When Hagrid showed up with his letter... he was shocked. He thought Lily and James died in a car crash, for Merlin's sake. Hogwarts was one hell of a culture shock."

"How much did you tell him?" Marina winced.

"Well... Hagrid's the one who told him about Voldemort and '81. He didn't even know who I was until the other students gave him the _Daily Prophet_ articles about me. Then we started talking. And by Christmas I started giving him mum's journals. I couldn't copy the memories she put in them, but at least he gets to read about James and Lily."

"And what about-?" He waved around his cell.

"Everything. I told him all of it, starting with the Marauder's becoming animagi because of Remus and ending with the Fidelius and... the rat."

"You told him about Remus?" he asked, suitably shocked.

"Not just him," she admitted sheepishly. "He was the Weasleys' at the time so they know too now. I asked Remus for permission first, though. And the pretty much _only_ good thing that came out of Harry growing up with muggles is that he wasn't raised with the same prejudices. He couldn't care less that my godfather turns furry at the full moon."

Marina strongly suspected that he wouldn't have cared if he'd been raised by wizards either. He hated bullying and the prejudice against werewolves was just that.

"Anything else important I've missed?" her Dad asked, only mildly sarcastic.

"Yes. But that'll have to wait until you're out. It'll just drive you mad otherwise." Bad choice of words but accurate. They stayed silent for a few minutes.

"I've started animagus training," she told him then. "McGonagall is helping off the record." It was her professor's way of making up for ignoring her concerns the year before.

"Why would she do that?"

"Let's just say I have a talent for getting into trouble," she sighed and wished she could just tell him everything. "She thinks it's a good skill to have – especially for getting away. And... I want to do it for Remus." She hadn't breathed a word about it to her godfather though. She hated the thought that he was suffering through the full moons alone since the night he'd lost all his best friends at once. His father's arm around her tightened.

"Have you found your form yet?" he asked slyly. She knew why he'd asked.

"Yes. It hasn't changed."

She'd wondered why he'd addressed her as _Kitten_ in his letter, so she'd asked Remus. He'd burst out laughing before telling her she'd spontaneously changed into an infant lynx at age two. Her mother had almost fainted in shock, her father had been equal parts proud and disappointed that she wasn't canine.

"Remus will lose it once finds out," he warned her.

"He'll find out when I can turn at will – which means too late to stop me. Besides, I have McGonagall helping me so it's not as dangerous as what you three geniuses did."

"Not the safest thing, in hindsight," he agreed. "But we were all top of the class so..."

"So am I and yet I had the sense to ask for help. I won't be registering though."

The Ministry had too many so-called reformed Death Eaters in its employ. She didn't want word of her potential new skill to reach Voldemort – wherever he was hiding.

"Speaking of animagi-," she said curiously, "-how can you still turn? The transformation takes a lot of magic and..."

"I still have mine," he confirmed her suspicion. "Being innocent wasn't a happy thought so they couldn't take it. It kept me sane. Somewhat," he added wryly.

Before she could argue, there was a change in atmosphere. The temperature suddenly dropped a good few degrees and she could see their breath fog the air.

"Dementors," she realised. "They were ordered to stay clear of you."

"They're escorting someone," her Dad mumbled, cocking his head in a way that made him look remarkably like his dog-form.

Then he started shaking and pressed his eyes shut. Marina gripped his hand, worried, but she couldn't help him. Not only because he was caught in his own mind as of right then, but because he wasn't the only one the dementors were affecting.

" _Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"_ James' voice was trembling with fear, sounding louder than ever in her head.

" _Rose, take Kitten and go! I'll hold him off!"_

" _You can't take him on your own, James!"_ Marina's breath caught. She'd never remembered her mother arguing before.

" _Take the kids and leave!" James thundered. "Sirius will never forgive me if something happens to his girl!"_

 _A loud crack in the background signalled the front door shattering. Harry started crying next to her, close to her ear._

" _Lily, take the kids! Run!" her mother's voice, terrified beyond belief..._

Marina must've shaken as much as her father, because the next thing she knew was that she was lying on the ground of his cell – him right next to her – and looking up at the concerned faces of the front desk auror, Mad-Eye and... Cornelius Fudge.

"Whatever happened to keeping the dementors clear from here?" she grumbled weakly, still trembling, and turned around to check on her Dad.

The man was clutching his head and mumbling, " _No. No. I'm sorry_ " over and over again. In that moment he looked every bit as mad as any other prisoner in there.

Horrified, she realised that the dementors were already having more of an effect on him. Even the little information she'd given him had them feeding off him.

"Get those _abominations_ away from here!" she spat and fervently wished for her wand. So far all she'd managed was silver mist that roughly maybe resembled some sort of four-legged creature, no actual patronus, but it would be better than nothing.

"Now, now, Ms Black, you have to understand-," Fudge started, his usual pompous self, but he didn't get to finish.

Mad-Eye slammed his weird cane hard onto the ground once and a huge cloud of silver patronus burst out of it, pushing the dementors away.

Meanwhile, her Dad was still out of it, now moaning _"James! No, James, no!"_ on repeat.

"Please tell me you've got chocolate somewhere in that cloak, Mad-Eye," Marina asked the ex-auror and edged close enough to her rambling father to pull his head into her lap. In a way of answering, the man silently handed her an entire bar.

Marina broke of one block and ate it herself before all but force-feeding her father.

"Never mind that you yourself signed the order to keep them away from Dad-," Marina snapped at the minister without looking his way, "-but how exactly did I qualify for that torture?"

And it was torture. She had known it but she hadn't _known_. Having people tell her and read about dementors was one thing, but to experience their effect...

"I apologise," Fudge lamented, obviously decided that was the best was to deal with a very upset female. "I actually came here today to tell Mr Black his trial date."

Marina bit her tongue so hard she almost bled. Pointing out that whatever date he had in mind was twelve years late wouldn't help.

"I also sent owls to you, Mr Lupin, Mrs Tonks and Mr Potter so they can attend," Fudge announced, no doubt proud of himself.

This time she whirled around and stared at the minister.

"Why in the world would you owl _Harry_?" she questioned, aghast.

Never mind Dumbledore, his muggle relatives would make her brother's life miserable for a summons like that.

"Well, as Mr Black is Harry's godfather, the outcome affects him, doesn't it?"

"Yes, and I appreciate that you took it into consideration, Minister. But when you question Dad with veritaserum or worse, watch his memories in the Wizengamot's pensieve... Harry does _not_ need to see that."

 _Marina_ didn't need to see it, but there was no way she'd stay away from that trial.

Before anyone could comment or react, her father finally came back to himself, swallowing the rest of chocolate whole from the looks of it.

"I'm sorry, Dad," she said, feeling terrible.

There is no way he'd ever been that affected before. If he had been, he would have gone madder even than Bellatrix.

"I'm okay, Kitten," he blatantly lied to her, forcing half a smile. From what he'd been mumbling, she would guess he'd been forced to remember finding James and Lily dead.

Either way, he heaved himself off the floor and faced the newcomers. He nodded at Mad-Eye with respect, obviously not blaming his former boss like she had done for the better part of a month after she'd found out, and stared at the auror and Fudge without expression.

Marina had to admit it was very disturbing.

"Mr Black-," Fudge started surprisingly steady under her father's continued regard,"-I pushed up my schedule on the correctional visit because I wanted to personally give you notice that your trial will be held on August 2nd before the entire Wizengamot."

That had been so obviously practised and memorised she had to look down to suppress a chuckle. Her Dad took her hand and squeezed once, apparently agreeing.

"I would thank you, Minister-," he then rasped, "-but I'm afraid I will have to go with _'About time'_ instead."

Much awkward silence ensued.

Finally, Marina cleared her throat.

"If you would give us a minute, Minister? Then I'll accompany you outside." _And face the vultures._

Fudge had known she was here so she was going with the assumption that the press was waiting outside. He wanted to do a press statement and have her there to look good.

"Of course," he agreed hastily, twirling his bowler hat. Mad-Eye limped out behind him after nodding at her father.

"Merlin help me," she mumbled. This time she was the one pulling him into a hug.

"Cornelius seems almost afraid of you," her Dad said gravely, but he couldn't hold back the smile.

"He's afraid of the potential disaster I could cause for his career," she replied. "With everyone, including Dumbledore, in my corner, he can't deny your trial and the truth any longer. He's hoping I'll heap some praise onto him once the press gets to me."

"You have a sense for politics."

"I have a sense for bullocks. I don't care if _Fudge_ comes out of this smelling like roses. He didn't put you in here. Crouch better hope I never meet him, though."

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor," he Dad grinned proudly and kisser her on the head.

 _One more month_ , she told herself. One month and then she'd have him back. And maybe... Harry would finally have an adult that loved him in his life. Even the dementors couldn't suck that hope away.


	11. Trial (I)

_**August 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **, 1993**_

It was a farce. The entire Wizengamot had convened; 50-odd wizards and witches present to see justice done.

Except of course, a good portion of them would rather have eaten their wands than have seen her father cleared – they were Death Eaters after all.

On the side of the Cowards, as she mentally called them all, were Avery Jr, Crabbe Sr, Goyle Sr, Selwyn, Macnair, Malfoy and Yaxley. Thankfully, they were only present as a courtesy. Only Selwyn and Macnair held seats.

Benjamin Nott did too, but she didn't know whose side he would take. He had never publicly supported the pure-blood agenda, which was the corner stone of every Death Eater's policies. Also, he had been working on mending his relationship with Jupiter for a year now. Overall, she didn't count him as a Death Eater anymore – especially since he'd volunteered to take veritaserum and had revealed under its influence that he'd never killed anyone, rather taking the punishment Voldemort had thus inflicted on him. Poor Theo had turned green when he'd heard.

On the side of the Good Guys, there were the Notts, the Weasleys, Mad-Eye, Remus and the Tonks. Marina was shocked that Molly Weasley had allowed all of her kids to come along – even Ginny.

Due to Dumbledore's and Kingsley Shacklebolt's involvement, Amelia Bones – the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – had caught wind of what was going on. The woman had personally marched into Azkaban and questioned her Dad extensively. Afterwards she'd marched back out, so furious her wand had been shooting sparks, sought out Marina and promised her she would personally ensure his freedom. With Amelia on board, Griselda Marchbanks and Elphias Doge had been informed – they'd been equally outraged.

And because Amelia knew, so did her niece Susan – who was a really nice girl Harry's age, but a bit of a gossip. Within a few hours Susan had owled her best friend Hannah Abbott, and both girls had proceeded to owl all their friends in Hufflepuff.

Like a snowball cascading into an avalanche, it had only taken a few days for almost all of Hogwarts to find out – especially since one of those kids had apparently discussed the subject at dinner; with a family friend present who just happened to be a reporter of the _Daily Prophet_.

It had come as no surprise at all when Marina had been buried under a storm of owls for the next few days. Everyone who'd ever met or talked to her wanted to express their opinion on the matter.

It had been driving her batty, as a lot of the birds had crashed her duelling training, and she'd asked Ted to erect a ward to keep the owls out. Hogwarts didn't offer Duelling, so she could only train during the holidays. All the mail had been diverted to the post office who would try and send it again in due time.

Her biggest concern however wasn't her renewed celebrity status, for which Susan and Hannah had apologised rather profoundly. It was Harry.

When one of the many messages had somehow reached Hermione, who didn't really get that much owl mail, she'd immediately contacted Harry to congratulate them on the success.

Needless to say, her brother had not been amused that she'd kept it from him. Marina had spent an entire afternoon explaining why she hadn't told him: first and foremost because she feared the Cowards would move to have her father's memories watched on record, and she really didn't think it was necessary for Harry to see his dead parents. She only remembered their screams at the end, and that was bad enough.

Harry had understood her reasons – but categorically insisted that he come along. Marina was may things but not a hypocrite, so she'd badgered the adults until Dumbledore had finally agreed.

So now here they were, sitting in a court room stuffed with people who really had no business being here; not least of which the press.

Dumbledore's and Amelia's support would be enough to sway a lot of votes, unfortunately Macnair and Selwyn held about as much influence on their side of the bench.

Marina hadn't allowed herself to think on the _What If_ of her father not being cleared. It would be the height of injustice and lunacy, in front of reporters no less, but it was possible. They didn't have the rat as evidence.

"Silence, please!" Dumbledore requested loudly from his seat up front. "The trial will now begin!"

* * *

 _ **Four hours later...**_

They were still sitting in that court room, listening to the members of the Wizengamot argue. They'd gotten up at five o'clock in order to be on time for the eight o'clock trial. Harry had finally succumbed to his exhaustion – the muggles had once again been working him all summer – and had laid his head against her shoulder.

Marina, for her part, was thoroughly annoyed.

They had questioned her father, under the influence of veritaserum no less, forward and backward for hours. He'd told them everything, from how the Marauders had become animagi to how everything had gone so terribly wrong and ended at Hallowe'en 1981.

She was grateful she'd decided to tell Harry all of it before they had attended this nonsense.

Even Mad-Eye, who was accustomed to the process, was getting frustrated a few rows over. Ginny had fallen asleep between the twins, and Tyler wasn't holding up much better.

What was really putting a strain on the older teenagers, and the adults, though were the bloody dementors. Nobody was actually feeling their effect, thanks to Dumbledore's patronus: a phoenix. But their present was like a constant reminder of doom – and her own awful memories she hadn't told anyone about.

"Leave her out of this!" her Dad suddenly barked and Marina snapped her head around, shocked. It was the first time he'd spoken in anything but calm and collected tones.

Even after the veritaserum had worn off, he'd shown them all nothing but deference. Consequently, she was surprised at the outburst.

"If your brat is so sure of your innocence-," Macnair sneered, insisting on being stupid, "-why didn't she insist on due process sooner?"

Her idiot of a father actually tried to stand to defend her. Not that he got very far.

Harry had straightened at the Death Eater's scathing accusation.

"Maybe you should be asking me that," Marina said calmly but firmly, her voice ringing loudly in the court room.

The Cowards collectively flinched and looked her way, after they'd obviously forgotten she was there.

"Ms Black, you have not been called as witness," Dumbledore said sternly, his persona of Chief Warlock in full force.

"Then someone should remind Mr Macnair that my father is not a legilimens," Marina replied dryly. "He can't possibly know what I was thinking."

Said father had a hard time suppressing his smirk.

"Let the girl answer," Lucius Malfoy suddenly spoke up, a spectator himself, albeit one with a lot more political weight than others.

She had to stifle her laugh when she spotted a pretty smug Narcissa pet her husband's arm.

Dumbledore looked around, saw most of the Wizengamot members nodding in agreement, and gestured at her to proceed.

"First of all, I didn't press for this trial sooner because the... adults in my life decided not to tell me about Dad until a year ago," Marina said and had to force herself to sound calm. "And as soon as I _did_ find out, I pestered everyone involved. Now here we are – and have been for four hours, might I add."

"Proceedings such as these take time, dear," a woman sitting close to the Death Eaters told her condescendingly. She had a pink ribbon on her head, of all things.

"He's told you everything he knows under the influence of veritaserum," Marina countered, a bit exasperated. "And thanks to Madame Bones, Magical Law Enforcement has finally done its job and come to the conclusion that the whole scenario of Dad blowing up that street makes no sense."

The angle of how the spell had hit didn't fit her father's position at the time at all; never mind the fact that he had been trained as a Hit Wizard and was capable of making a clean kill, not that massacre he was accused of.

"Aurors make mistakes," ribbon-head said sweetly.

"Obviously-," Marina fired back, "- seeing as my father has been in prison for twelve years. Let me ask the Wizengamot this: did anyone ever test my father's wand?"

She knew they hadn't. David and his partner, Elias Whitmore – who's father held a seat – had kept digging through the archives for months, until they'd found her father's untested – and thankfully still intact – wand in evidence.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Macnair snapped.

"Because then you would know that he never fired any such spell," she responded dryly. "In fact, you'd see that he wasn't even trying to kill Pettigrew – much as he might have wanted to."

And hadn't he already testified that he'd only been trying to _stun_ the rat? Furious as he had been, her father had still known that they would have needed Peter alive – it would presumably have been easy enough to get him to talk and give up his terrorist friends.

"Whitmore," Amelia spoke up, loudly, and Marina snapped her head around. She hadn't paid any particular attention to the aurors on duty and part of this farce. If Elias was here...

"Yes, Ma'am." Elias stepped forward, dressed in an auror's duty clothing: form-fitting pants, a dark shirt and duelling robes.

Different to casual robes, they were always open and cut in a way that wouldn't hinder the person during a fight; sleeves that actually ended at the wrists, for starters, and were snug as to not hamper spell casting. Combined with the man's pitch black hair, he looked overall sinister. Really though, he was a great guy – then again, he'd have to be as David's best friend.

Thinking of which: David stepped forward next to his partner, dressed the same and entirely fed up. Marina was the only one who knew the latter, of course.

"Go to evidence storage and retrieve Mr Black's wand. Meanwhile, Nott, extract Mr Black's memories from '81. It is time to settle this once and for all."

Marina tensed at the same time as her father. But while his eyes immediately shot to her in concern, she looked at Harry instead.

Knowing what had happened to his parents was one thing. Knowing Marina actually remembered them when he didn't was one thing. Seeing them in her Dad's memories was another league entirely. It was exactly what she'd been afraid of.

"It's okay," Harry whispered, a small smile on his face. "I can handle it."

Well, it wasn't like she could bloody _stop_ the Wizengamot from doing what they wanted.

When she looked back, her father was still looking at her and David hadn't moved to do as ordered. He was staring at her too. She nodded at them both, sighing. Best to get it over with.

None of the people present had missed the exchange, but surprisingly no one commented.

"I'm sorry," Carmen whispered as her brother pulled silvery strings of memories out of her father's head.

"Better David than anyone else," Marina replied grimly. "At least I know he knows what he's doing and not messing up Dad's head."

"He volunteered for duty today," Bianca offered.

The eldest Nott had returned from Africa to support Marina during the trial. And to inform her parents that she'd met someone that, if she had her way, she would marry at some point. Considering the fact that he'd owled her four times in the week she'd been back, Marina figured the woman's chances were pretty good.

"At least he's on our side," Harry mumbled in a way of responding to Bianca. He'd met her for the first time outside the court room this morning.

"How are you holding up?" Marina asked him and slung her left arm around his shoulders. Her brother laid his head back on her shoulder, yawning from exhaustion.

She smiled when she remembered that it had taken Hermione to explain to Harry why Marina had always hesitated to hug him. Of course, once the genius witch and Ron had overheard Marina call Harry her godbrother, they'd gone and told Harry. He simply called her his sister since and had written to her every other day during the holidays. Iris, Hedwig and the Tonks owl had never been so busy.

"Half of me really wants to see the memories," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "The other half doesn't want to see them... dead."

"That's why I didn't want to bring you," Marina sighed. "Mad-Eye said this might happen. I don't want to see them dead, either."

"At least you can get your Dad back," Harry said, attempting to cheer her up. But his own pain and loss almost made her choke.

"I did mention he's your godfather, right?" she huffed. "Do you really think he'll leave you there?"

"Dumbledore-"

"Means well, probably has a gazillion good reasons for leaving you there and had every right to make that decision back then," Marina cut him off before he could get her mad at their headmaster. "But with Dad's name cleared, he is your legal guardian. Even Dumbledore can't challenge that."

"Assuming he is cleared," Percy Weasley butted in logically.

"I'd like to see them try and lock him back up," Marina said grimly. "The wand will test clean and we have the Head of the DMLE on our side. Now it's just a matter of strong-arming the Cowards into backing off."

Elias came back with the wand just in time for David to finish the memory fishing.

Marina noticed her father staring at his wand longingly. It had been twelve years since he'd seen it last.

"Auror Whitmore, if you would," Amelia ordered officially and the entire room watched with rapt attention as the man cast a Prior Incantatem on the wand, forcing it to reveal the last spell cast.

Of course, in a court room the magic of the entire Wizengamot worked in tandem. It gave Elias' already powerful spell an extra edge and forced the wand to reveal more than just one spell. A dozen echoes appeared – none of them lethal or explosive.

"Let the record show that Sirius Black did not cast any spells capable of blowing up that street or killing anyone," Amelia announced. The magical quill scribbled down her words for the public archives.

Elias ended the spell and, without waiting for instruction, walked up the gallery, handing her the wand. When she took it, her fingers tingled. It wasn't resonating like her own, but she supposed it knew she was its owner's daughter.

"That doesn't prove anything," Selwyn prevailed.

But Marina could tell that most of the Wizengamot was appalled; they were starting to realise that the previous administration had indeed locked up an innocent man.

"On the contrary," Fudge countered dryly. "It proves that Mr Black did not murder anyone."

"Perhaps it's time to see for ourselves," Amelia said and waved at David, wordlessly ordering him to put the memories into the modified pensieve. It would allow the entire room to see the memory in question.

Yet again, David looked at Marina first.

"Ready?" she asked Harry, squeezing his shoulder. He nodded. She gestured for David to get on with it.


	12. Memories (II)

_**September 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1981**_

" _We celebrated his first birthday last month, Padfoot," James said quietly, his eyes firmly pinned on his wife and son._

" _I know, Prongs, I know," Sirius answered just as quietly. They were sitting in the Potters' living room. The men were nursing drinks and Lily and Rose were entertaining the children._

" _Did Dumbledore say why he's coming after you?" Sirius asked his best friend, taking a sip of his drink._

" _He's not after us," James replied, an anxious tone in his voice. "He's coming for Harry."_

" _What? Why?"_

" _I don't know," James sigh. "Albus does, I think, but if so then he didn't tell me."_

" _No wonder Lily wants you to go under a Fidelius," Sirius mumbled, visibly stunned._

"Oh dear Merlin," Marina whispered and Harry leaned closer. "Mum put that memory in her journal. She never knew what they were talking about."

" _Who knows?" Sirius questioned and refilled their glasses._

" _No one but you," James answered. "I haven't even told Moony."_

" _You wouldn't find him anyway. He's too deep in with the werewolves," Sirius commented, blatantly obvious disapproval in his tone._

" _Dumbledore asked him to do it, Padfoot," James admonished._

" _Yes, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it."_

" _You think Remus likes it?" James asked, heavy irony in his voice. "It's only chance we have of ever getting anywhere near Greyback."_

" _I know, I know," Sirius sighed, holding up a hand in surrender. "I'm just worried, Prongs. Everything's falling apart fast."_

" _Not everything," James remarked, and both men – as if on an invisible cue – looked over at their children._

 _Toddler Marina was wearing a perfectly hideous pink dress with flowers, but was too busy scribbling on a piece of paper to notice. Baby Harry was babbling and adding the colour._

 _Lily and Rose were making sure they didn't accidentally poke their own or each other's eyes out._

" _Will you do it, Padfoot?" James asked, his eyes still on Harry. "Be our Secret Keeper?"_

" _Of course," Sirius replied immediately. "Anything you need, Prongs. You and Lily know that."_

" _It's not school anymore," James insisted. "And what about Kitten?" Sirius smiled at the question._

" _She drew this yesterday," he told James and pulled out a drawing._

 _The picture itself was unrecognisable but someone had scribbled names underneath the figures holding hands. The two tiny ones in the middle were labelled_ _My Brother Harry_ _and_ _Me_ _. The four bigger ones surrounding the kids were titled_ _Auntie Lily_ _,_ _Uncle Prongs_ _,_ _Daddy_ _and_ _Momma_ _._

" _I'm hoping I won't be gone that long," Sirius said as James stared at the drawing. "But I think even if I will be, my girl will understand."_

The memory ended on that note and David waved his wand to show everyone the next one. Harry took Marina's hand and squeezed hard, his anticipation making her dizzy.

* * *

 _ **September 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1981**_

" _Really, Sirius?" Lily snapped angrily, flinging her red hair over her shoulder. "You're going to listen to Bella over us?" Rose entered the room, closing the door to Harry's room quietly where you could see the kids sleeping._

" _Bella's a fruitcake but she has a point," Sirius persisted, crossing his arms. "Everybody and their brother knows we're best friends. They'll come after me."_

" _So what?" James asked, his arms crossed too and glaring at his friend. "You'd never betray any of us."_

" _Not voluntarily," Sirius agreed._

" _Not ever," Rose spoke up. "There is nothing that lunatic or anyone else could do to make you talk, Sirius."_

" _You don't know Bella," he shook his head._

" _And you know the Fidelius protects your mind!" Lily huffed. "Even a legilimens couldn't take the information from you."_

" _Everyone has a breaking point," he said quietly. The others subsided, obviously not knowing what to say to that._

" _So what do you suggest?" Rose finally asked, sidling up to Sirius. Apparently noticing her nerves, he slung an arm around her shoulders._

" _Use someone else," he said firmly. "Tell Dumbledore and everyone else that I'm Secret Keeper but use someone else."_

" _They'd still come after y..." James didn't finish and he stared at his best friend in horror. Lily, catching on too, pressed to her husbands side, who immediately pulled her into his arms._

" _Sirius... no," Lily shook her head in refusal._

" _You want to play decoy," Rose stated the obvious._

" _That way, everyone stays safe."_

" _Everyone but you!"_

* * *

 _ **September 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1981**_

" _What are you doing?" Rose asked a preoccupied Sirius. He was sitting at the kitchen table and writing on a piece of parchment._

" _Explaining," he answered distractedly. He looked up for a moment, his eyes darting to Marina, who was happily waving around her toy wand, shooting sparks._

" _You wouldn't have to if you just came into hiding with us," Rose argued, her expression mutinous. But something in her voice gave away that she knew his response already._

" _I can't," Sirius denied. "If nothing else, I have to do it for Peter. I promised him the Death Eaters would leave him alone."_

Her father and Remus both let out quiet growls at that point, their anger vibrating across the court room.

" _He knows the risk he's taking, Sirius. No one becomes Secret Keeper lightly."_

" _Still, if they ever got their hands on him...," Sirius shook his head. "I love Peter like a brother but he's not strong enough."_

" _They why aren't they using Remus?"_

" _Don't know where he is. That and... he's been... different since he got involved with the packs."_

" _I still think it was wrong of Dumbledore to ask Remus to do it," Rose grumbled. "Let's not forget that Greyback is the monster that bit Moony."_

" _I think that's why Remus agreed," Sirius sighed with a nod. "He sees it as a chance to get even."_

" _Is James going to tell Peter to tell Remus where they are?" Rose asked, her gaze wandering over to another toddler drawing of a wolf and a little blonde girl hugging it:_ _Uncle Moony and Me_ _._

" _I don't know. Probably. Have you finished packing?" Sirius added and sealed the letter with a spell._

" _Yes. I'm leaving most of my things anyway – they have no reason to look for us here. Albus is already spreading rumours that I'm joining James and Lily under the Fidelius."_

* * *

 _ **October 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **, 1981**_

" _It's alright, Kitten," Sirius assured Marina as she hid her face against his neck, caressing her hair. A discarded toy broom laid at his feet._

" _Flying is dumb, Daddy," she complained, her voice muffled. Sirius bit his lower lip to stifle a chuckle._

" _Harry likes it," James commented and Lily smacked his arm lightly, even as Rose giggled._

 _Marina looked up from her Dad's shoulder and gaped at James._

" _Harry too little to fly," Marina protested, her eyes wide._

 _Lily stood up and walked over to the furnace, grabbing one of the pictures there. She walked back over to the sofa and showed it to the others._

 _All you could see was a laughing Lily, sitting on her bed, and a very fast something with black hair zooming through the picture. A pair of legs followed hurriedly._

 _Marina looked from the photo to Lily, back to the photo, to James and back again. Then she huffed._

" _Boys."_

 _The adults all broke out laughing._

 _Marina, a little offended, wiggled out of her father's arms, down the sofa and wobbled in the direction of Harry's room._

" _What are you doing, Kitten?" Sirius asked, watching her slow progress._

" _Harry," was all the answer he got._

 _Rose smiled and walked over to open the door. James, Lily and Sirius watched from the sofa as Marina held onto the crib's bars and made sure Harry was okay, before asking Rose to lift her in. As soon as she touched the mattress, she laid down next to the little boy and made herself comfortable. Rose kissed her on the hair and then left the room, closing the door._

Harry squeezed Marina's hand as he watched, even as she tried not to blush bright red. Dear Merlin, she really hadn't needed everyone to see all that.

" _Wormtail's coming over in half an hour," James said, sounding much more subdued._

" _It needs to be done, Prongs," Sirius said, trying to sound at least a little cheerful._

" _We really wish you'd stay with us," Lily said and took James' hand._

" _That would defeat the purpose of a decoy," he replied dryly. "I'll be fine, Lily."_

" _You'd be better here," James said sharply, his worry shining through._

" _And Wormtail?" Sirius demanded just as sharply. "I promised him he'd be safe, James."_

" _Don't," Rose cut in when Lily opened her mouth again. "I've tried already. And if he won't stay for Marina..."_

Marina flinched in her seat at her mother's accusation. Damn, the woman hadn't pulled punches.

" _And how am I going to look our daughter in the eye one day if I let one of my best friends get tortured and killed?" Sirius growled, anger sounding through loud and clear._

" _At least you'd be around," Rose persisted. "You think they won't kill you the second they realise you're not Secret Keeper?"_

" _They'd have to catch me first."_

The memory went foggy for a moment and when the image sharpened again, it was clear that some time had passed. Peter was there already.

" _You can still change your minds," Lily said, looking at Sirius and Peter both._

" _No, no, Lily," Peter said nervously after looking at Sirius first, fiddling with his sleeve. "I told you I'd do it."_

" _As soon as it's done-," Sirius said, "-go home, Wormtail. I'll make sure they see me somewhere. They'll stay off your back." There was still an undertone to his voice that told everyone not to argue again. No one did._

 _Instead, Lily started waving and pointing her wand, whispering the Fidelius under her breath._

 _When she was done, Peter closed his eyes for a second – likely feeling the magic settle – before he nodded hectically._

" _It worked," he squeaked and pulled on a lose strand on his sleeve so hard it came off._

 _Then he scribbled something, presumably the address of Potter Cottage, on a piece of paper and handed it to James. Sirius, Rose and Lily gathered around him and the four of them read the note, being let in on the location in the process. Then Rose burned the note with a wave of her own wand._

" _It's done," she said with a certain gloom to her voice._

" _If you meet Remus, Peter-," Lily said, subdued as well, "-let him in on it. We trust him." But James' and Sirius' expressions said something very different._

Once again, the image blurred and Marina had a really bad feeling she knew what would come next. The concerned look her Dad sent her and Harry's way just confirmed it.

* * *

 _ **Hallowe'en 1981**_

 _The motorcycle made one hell of a ruckus as it landed in Godric's Hollow. It was too silent as Sirius dismounted and ran down the street through the pitch black night. There wasn't a single bird twitching. Not a single start could be seen in the night's sky. There were no people around. Granted, it was Hallowe'en, but there was an almost eerie air to the whole village._

 _Then he rounded the last corner – and the horror could be seen. Potter Cottage laid in ruins, one half completely blown away, the other in shambles._

Harry started trembling next to her and Marina slung her arm back around him, pulling him close. She was aware that their entourage was shooting concerned looks their way, but she couldn't take her eyes off her Dad's memory. Her nightmares about to become visible.

 _The closer Sirius got to the house, the clearer became the carnage. Spell residue blackened the walls, furniture blasted into pieces. The front door had been blown out of its hinges, betraying the violent entry. He entered the house with his wand drawn and his arm trembling. And then he saw him._

" _James!" Sirius groaned in terror, dropping to his knees next to his best friend. "No, James, no!" He gripped his fallen friend's hand, the skin already so pale against his own._

" _Forgive me," Sirius whispered, tears streaming down his face. "I am so sorry, my friend." Then he closed the man's eyes underneath the glasses and arranged the body in a more dignified position._

Marina, her own grief rearing its head, could sense her Dad's anguish in the memory and the court room both. Remus wasn't faring much better. Everyone else's mourning wasn't quite as powerful, thankfully, otherwise their collective grief might have caused her to faint.

Harry, though, wasn't emitting any emotion just yet; he was in shock.

 _Sirius, visibly forcing himself to leave his friend, continued his way into the destroyed house. More furniture and pictures had been shattered. He hesitated for a second before he entered Harry's room._

The image went black for a second and Marina assumed it was because he'd closed his eyes.

 _Lily and Rose were lying close to each other on the floor, right in front of the crib._

 _Lily's eyes were wide open, her mouth frozen in a silent scream._

 _Rose, on the other hand, looked oddly peaceful._

 _Harry was screaming and flailing in his crib. Marina, though crying as well, was silent and awkwardly petting Harry's head._

 _That's when Sirius snapped out of it. He hurried over and repositioned Lily as well, until it almost looked as if she was only asleep. His hands were shaking._

 _And then, finally, he stood in front of the kids. With a few waves of his wand, he'd healed the cuts the debris had left on Marina's face and cleaned away the blood on Harry's – the spell didn't touch the lightning scar though._

" _Daddy," sobbed Marina and raised her arms. Sirius lifted her out of the crib, rocking her lightly._

" _Hold on, Kitten," he rasped, his own voice thick._

 _Marina wrapped her arms around his neck like a vice and he reached down again to take Harry. The boy was still crying but he seemed to calm a little as he recognised Sirius and snuggled into his arms._

" _Bad man," sobbed Marina. "Bad, bad man... Hurt Momma... Hurt Lily... Hurt Prongs." With every person mentioned, she sobbed harder._

" _I know, Kitten. I know," Sirius said soothingly and rocked both children._

 _But there was something new in his voice: fury._

 _He turned around and carried the children out of the house, trying to make sure Marina didn't see James' body as well._

 _He hadn't taken so much as ten steps, when a very large man stepped in his way. Said man's face was mostly covered in a black beard and wild black hair. His eyes were tiny in comparison and black as well – he looked altogether threatening._

" _Hagrid," Sirius breathed in recognition._

" _Sirius," Hagrid greeted him, his voice shaking as he took in the carnage behind the man and children. "'Tis true, then? Lily and James-?"_

" _Dead," Sirius choked out, a fresh wave of tears streaming out of his eyes."Rose, too."_

" _Ah, I'm sorry." Hagrid lifted a large hand and patted Sirius' shoulder. With his free hand, he pulled out a rather large tissue and blew his nose._

" _Not as sorry as Wormtail is going to be," Sirius mumbled under his breath, his hand tightening around his wand._

" _Dumbledore sent me," Hagrid told Sirius once he'd pulled himself together. "Says I'm to take the kids."_

 _Sirius, apparently none too impressed by that, took a step backwards._

" _He wants you take_ my _daughter and_ my _godson?" he questioned, a steely tone in the question._

 _Hagrid, clearly uncomfortable, fumbled with his tissue._

" _Ah, blimey, Sirius... Dumbledore's orders, ya know? I'm just..."_

 _Sirius stared at the man for a while, then looked at the traumatised children in his arms._

" _Tell Dumbledore I'll be taking them back," he then said and met Hagrid's eyes head-on. "Tell him once I've done what I need to do right now, I'll be coming to take my daughter back and to claim custody of Harry."_

" _Will do," Hagrid agreed and opened his arms as Sirius handed him the kids._

" _No!" Marina screamed and held onto her father. "No, Daddy, no."_

" _It's okay, Kitten," Sirius said calmingly once Hagrid had hold of an exhausted Harry. "I'll be back, soon, I promise."_

 _But Marina wasn't having it._

" _No, Daddy, bad man hurt you too!" she cried and Hagrid gaped as he realised the implications._

" _I'll be back tonight, okay?" Sirius whispered into her ear. "But I have to check on Uncle Wormtail, hm?"_

Well, it hadn't been a lie altogether, Marina thought dryly as she watched her younger self calm down. Even at three years old she'd understood that the Marauders were important. They all watched as her father handed her over to Hagrid as well and then cast a Sleeping Charm on her.

After that the memory went unfocused again, before sharpening into a new one.

Just about everyone straightened in their seats as they recognised it as the confrontation between her father and the rat. Harry stiffened next to her, pressing even closer if possible.

 _Not a single word was spoken between the two old friends as they stared at each other across the street. Sirius, now trembling with anger, was visibly holding himself back. His eyes were darting towards the muggles every so often. Peter, for his part trembling with fear, was looking at the muggles as well._

" _We trusted you," Sirius barked – loud enough for the rat to hear but not so loud as to draw attention to them. Peter flinched as if he'd hexed him already, but there was something in his eyes that spoke volumes to what had happened: calculation. His eyes were constantly moving, looking for a way out._

 _Sirius moved very slowly as he made his way across the street, as to not cause the rat to make a run for it. Then Peter pulled out a dagger – and sliced off his own finger._

Ginny shrieked when she saw that. Marina looked around and found a lot of people shocked at the lengths Peter had been willing to go to.

More importantly though, the members of the Wizengamot were looking just as angry as everyone else – at the rat.

 _Sirius was halfway across when Peter tossed his finger away and pulled his wand._

" _Lily and James, Sirius!" he screamed in a very loud, very shrilly voice. "How could you betray them?"_

 _More than one muggle turned around at the rather audible accusation._

 _Before Sirius had a chance to act on the outrage visible on his face, Peter pointed his wand downwards behind himself and mumbled something._

 _Sirius pulled out his own wand but it was too late._

 _The street exploded._

 _Even as Sirius fell, knocked down from the blast, he watched his former friend wave at him, a triumphant grin on his face, and turn into a rat. It scuttled away as the dust settled._

 _And Sirius, faced with the carnage on the street, burst out in hysterical, sobbing laughter with tears running down his face yet again._

David pointed his wand, shutting down the pensieve.

It was so silent you would think no one was even breathing, as the entire court room was looking at either her innocent father or her and Harry.

Marina didn't care that tears were running down her own face. She didn't care that she was showing her weaknesses right now. Every single person's emotions were pouring into her, making it impossible to control her own.

Harry was clinging to her and still refusing to have his well-deserved breakdown. Tears gleamed in his eyes but he refused to shed them, apparently.

So Marina did the only thing she could do, in the hopes they'd get out of there soon and could break down at home. She glared up at the collective Wizengamot.

"How about you fix this mess already."


	13. Cleared

" _ **Sirius Black Innocent!**_

 _In a historical event that marked a first in the history of the Ministry of Magic, the Wizengamot reopened a decade old case. As evidence made abundantly clear, grave injustice had been dealt out._

 _In November 1981, shortly after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's fall, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement sullied itself with a shocking atrocity._

 _Sirius Black, best friend to Lily and James Potter, was unceremoniously sent to Azkaban – for crimes he did not commit. In an attempt to capture the real culprit responsible for the Potters' untimely end and the death of twelve muggles, Mr Black found himself framed for those very sins. Perhaps the former Hit Wizard had not yet been worried at that point._

 _Little did he know that his own superior would send him to the hellish prison without giving him a chance to explain himself. Mr Black was denied his day in court; a trial never took place on the orders of late Minister Bagnold and Bartemius Crouch, Black's former supervisor. This very grave mistake not only left an innocent man a prisoner, but his daughter effectively an orphan._

 _Once the young Miss Marina Black learned of her father's predicament, she and her guardians did everything in their power to see his name cleared. Ms Black, for the past twelve years a ward of her father's cousin, expressed her outrage at his wrongful imprisonment and her grievance at how it had deprived her of the only parent she had left – as much as it had deprived the Boy Who Lived._

 _Mr Black is young Harry's godfather, a fact that has been kept quiet for over a decade. Sources tell us that Ms Black informed her friend of the situation even before any action was set in motion. And as life would have it, both children were present when Mr Black finally received his day in court. Accompanied by an impressive entourage of friends and family, they sat in on the trial that should have taken place in '81. Old and new evidence, as well as Mr Black's long overdue testimony was presented to the entire Wizengamot. Confronted with the overwhelming truth, our highest judges ruled Mr Black innocent and ordered his immediate release from Azkaban._

 _It stands to question, as Great Wizard Albus Dumbledore cheerfully announced the verdict, why he did not see justice done twelve years ago. An internal investigation has been launched to closely examine Mr Crouch's professional conduct. Imagine what it would mean if Mr Black was not the only one Crouch so unfairly locked away._

 _Now that his name is cleared, Mr Black has immediately reclaimed custody of his daughter and has been granted, as per the wishes of the late Potters, custody of his godson as well._

 _It is questionable whether the 50,000 galleons in damages for each year Mr Black spent wrongfully imprisoned the now free man has been given, are enough to make up for the horror he's been put through. A terrible wrong that, perhaps, does not yet see him fit to care for the children. The_ Daily Prophet _will follow up and wishes all the best to the reunited Family Black._

 _Rita Skeeter,_ Daily Prophet"

"Someone sure put a muzzle on her," Carmen commented after reading the article and put the paper down. "Hardly any snide comments about Sirius and you."

"Even Skeeter can't pull that right now," Marina snorted. "Not after Dad spent twelve years in prison. The editor must've reigned her in to prevent any public fallout."

"How is he?" David asked, putting down the copy of _Cooking the Muggle Way_ he'd started reading a week ago.

"Hanging in there," she replied with a sigh and leaned back in the armchair, absently petting Starlight. "The Ministry awarded him custody of Harry, yet Dumbledore still seems to think he has a say in where Harry lives from now on."

"Did you tell him about the muggles?" Carmen asked and resumed polishing her broomstick.

"No. That would be a bad idea. He might end up hexing them."

That would get him back locked up in no time.

"Why is Dumbledore so insistent on keeping Harry there?" Bianca asked, not once looking up from the letter she was writing to her soon-to-be fiancé.

"Something about a blood ward," Marina shrugged. "The same protection that kept him alive because of Lily's sacrifice is still active. Except I really don't care. Not with the way they're treating him."

"Which would be?"

All four of them jumped at the question. His voice was still more of a hoarse rasp than anything else.

Marina turned around. She still couldn't get over how different he looked. First thing out of prison, Remus had taken him shopping. Clean robes, a shaven face, a new haircut, and her Dad almost looked healthy again. His hair was even black again. He was still way too thin though, and the haunted look in his eyes probably wouldn't disappear anytime soon.

"Please tell me you didn't run out on Teresa again," she pleaded. "She hates that."

It had been on hell of an argument to get him to see the mind healer in the first place.

When he was home, he refused to sleep anywhere but on the floor next to her – in his animagus form. Marina wondered if he would keep that up once they had their own place.

There was a part of her that felt immensely guilty about moving out with him and not staying with the Tonks. Dromeda and Ted had assured her there was no reason and Dora's response had been something along the lines of _Don't be stupid_. Until they found a house, her Dad was staying with them – just not on the full moon. He'd apparated to Remus' place and spent the terror of the night with his best friend.

"I didn't," he grumbled. "Not that I really need it."

Marina bit her tongue. They'd had this conversation before and she wouldn't rehash it in front of her friends.

"How are the muggles treating Harry?" her Dad asked quietly, proving that his mind was a lot more focused than it had been at his release already. She sighed.

"Awful," she told him succinctly. "They hate magic, they hate us and from what I know... they hate Harry."

Outrage flashed through her father's eyes and he let lose a growl strangely reminiscent of his dog form.

"And Dumbledore knows this?"

"I would think so. Dumbledore knows everything," she huffed. "At least it seems that way sometimes."

He turned on his heels and walked away. Marina scrambled out of the armchair, much to Starlight's outrage, and ran after him.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as he stopped next to the furnace, his eyes on the floo powder.

"Having a conversation with your headmaster," he countered.

She pulled him back; the fact that it worked showed that he was still weak from Azkaban.

"Not as angry as you are right now, you're not," she shook her head, "Your fuse is still too short."

His temper had been hell on earth since he'd got free.

He met her worried eyes and visibly reigned himself in.

"It doesn't really matter anymore how they've been treating him," Marina told him grimly as he slung an arm around her. "Because we're getting him out, whether Dumbledore likes it or not."

* * *

 _ **Privet Drive, August 27**_ _ **th**_ _ **1993**_

She felt beyond weird, walking down the muggle street with an Irish Wolfhound on the leash he'd really not wanted to have put on. But he couldn't very well march down the street in human form, what with his face crossing every TV nowadays. The Ministry had contacted the muggle Prime Minister, the only British official in on the big secret, and now even the muggles were getting plastered with press releases that her Dad was innocent. Unfortunately, even then he would draw a crowd of curious morons, and they couldn't have that. Harry was being rescued from his awful relatives today, and no gawking was getting in the way of that.

The house Harry lived in was cosy enough, but she knew that it was more like a prison for him. She knocked at the door sharply. There was some shuffling and then a very thin, haughty looking woman opened the door.

Petunia barely had any time to blink in surprise before her Dad pulled her into the house, past the startled owner.

"Who do you think you are?" Petunia demanded with a distinct shriek.

Dear Merlin, Harry probably had migraines on end here.

"We've come for Harry," Marina replied, not bothering to look at the woman.

Two very... large people joined them in the hallway. Vernon Dursley was groomed well enough, if overweighted. But the teenager... Dudley was fat, plain simple. He was the poster child for eating too much, doing too little and being spoiled. Marina's disdain over Harry living here tripled.

"We?" Vernon asked, mocking and disgust clear in his voice.

Marina smiled a grim smile, not a friendly expression, and unhooked her father's leash. He changed back to human in seconds.

Petunia screamed in horror, Vernon rambled in outrage and Dudley fled into another room. Apparently, the boy still hadn't gotten over his encounter with Hagrid. She'd have to help him with his giant spider friends for that one.

"Marina?"

She looked up the stairs and saw her brother standing on top. He was wearing a shirt that was obviously second-hand and reached almost down to his calves. The jeans was held in place by a belt he'd had to tie together because there weren't any holes he could use. Once again, he was paler than even her – except for his reddened and chafed hands.

"Get your stuff, Harry," she told him calmly. "We're leaving."

That's when his eyes found her Dad. She'd only ever seen him smile as happily when he'd won his first Quidditch match. He turned around and scrambled to pack.

"You his new escorts then?" Dursley huffed and crossed his arms.

"More like his new family," she retorted without looking at him.

"He has no family," Petunia sneered, standing at her husband's side.

"He does now," she said through clenched teeth.

Maybe it was herself Marina should have been worried about instead of her Dad. She had a mighty hard time not pulling her wand and jinxing the lot of them.

"He can't leave here. We're his legal guardians," Vernon announced.

It was amazing; they loathed Harry's living with them and yet they'd put up with it just to see him miserable. Her Dad must have reached the same conclusion, because he let lose one of his signature growls worthy of any hound.

"Not anymore, you're not," Marina huffed and took her father's hand to calm the both of them down. "Dad is Harry's godfather. Lily and James wanted him to raise Harry and now that his name is cleared, the Ministry granted him immediate custody."

"You-" Petunia started but Marina had had enough.

"No," she snapped and pulled her wand, pointing it at the horrible woman. "You've made his life a living hell for twelve years. It's over and he's coming with us. And I suggest you do not piss me off right now. Or Dad for that matter; innocent or not, twelve years in prison did a number on him."

Harry chose that exact moment to be done with packing and snorted a laugh as he stood at the top of the stairs, his trunk in one hand, his wand stuffed into his waistband and Hedwig's cage in the other hand. The owl was missing, presumably out hunting. She'd find them though.

"Your broomstick?" she questioned as he all but jumped down the stairs, clearly eager to get out of there. His eyes flicked over to the door underneath the stairs. Marina pointed at the lock.

" _Alohomora_!"

The Dursleys flinched in unison as the door sprung open on its own and she walked over to get the broomstick. She thought it best not to tell her Dad that Harry had lived in there for ten years. He might just end up strangling the muggles. With a mumbled " _Reducio_ " she shrunk the broomstick down she she could hide it in her jacket.

"Alright then, let's get out of here," she said cheerily and Harry grinned broadly.

None of the muggles dared move while her Dad turned back into a dog and only grumbled a little as she put the leash back on. The three of them had to make a very odd picture as they left the house without a backward glance.

"Does Dumbledore know about this?" Harry asked after a minute or so, concern sounding through.

"Yes. He wasn't exactly thrilled but he's on board. We're going back to Dromeda's place for now. We can't move into our new house yet - Dumbledore and just about everyone else aren't done warding it yet."

"Where is it?" Harry asked, trying – and failing – not to sound exited.

"Turner's Hill, Crawley, South of London," Marina smiled. "One and a half hours by car so I'd say about half that time by broomstick. Not that we'll ever be going by broomstick but still."

"A muggle town?" Harry asked, a bit surprised.

"Yes. But no worries, the wards will repel them from the house itself. And Dad bought one with a lot of forest right by our backyard, so you can fly and train for Quidditch."

"What about you and the Duelling?" he wanted to know and leaned against her a bit, causing her Dad to smile – weird though as that looked on a dog, you could still tell.

"Remus and the others are warding the backyard under a thousand spells, making it basically invisible for muggles. And soundproof. When they're done, I can train all I want. Speaking of which: I have my first official duel tomorrow. You wanna come?"

* * *

 _ **August 28**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1993**_

"That was amazing!" Harry grinned and hugged her as she made her way over to them. She'd won the duel despite her opponent being a year older. Having a bunch of aurors in the family definitely had its perks.

"Thanks," she grinned and hugged him back. They still didn't really do that in front of people other than her extended family – especially at Hogwarts.

"Well done," her Dad agreed, paternal pride all but seeping out his pores. He'd been added to the list of her sponsors and Marina dimly thought that was a good thing. Meeting Mad-Eye needed preparation and Harry wasn't quite there yet.

"Let me get changed, then we can take off for The Burrow," she told them and hurried to do just that.

The Weasleys had been surprisingly patient – she would have expected Molly to insist on seeing Harry the second they got him away from the Dursleys. She suspected Arthur had talked her down, and now they were due for dinner.

"Nice work," someone said behind her before she could enter the locker room. Marina whirled around in surprise.

"I thought you were on duty today," she grinned and hugged him back when he pulled her into him. As per usual, he was in auror robes.

"I was. The next shift took over early. Elias and I are just going to have to do the same when they need to get off early," David replied, clearly proud of himself.

For the first time in years though, Marina could sense something else off him. Something she had little to no personal experience with. But she knew exactly what it was since she got the same vibe off Bianca on a regular basis.

David was in love.

"And you have nowhere better to be?" she teased and took a step back.

"What, and miss the result of my handiwork? Not likely," he teased right back.

This time, something else poured off him, though. And it made her stomach clench.

"Why are you worried?" she asked him quietly, looking around to find his partner. He wouldn't be alone.

"I guess I should know better by now," David sighed.

"Now you know how Dromeda and Ted feel," she mock-commiserated. "Spill."

"Elias is out there, filling in Sirius right now," he told her, rather reluctantly. "At least that means we don't have to explain things to Harry. Your father can do that."

"Explain what?" Marina demanded, on edge herself at that point. It wasn't like David to talk in circles.

David, to her surprise, took both her hands in his. Suddenly, fear broke through his concern.

And somehow, Marina knew what he was going to say before he did. There was only one thing that had ever scared him like this.

"The Lestranges escaped Azkaban last night."

 _Bellatrix is free. Merlin help us all._

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I am so sorry it took this long. I was in the hospital for two months so my writing/re-writing was basically non-existent.**

 **But here it is, hope you like it. The next chapter will come sooner...**


	14. Troubled

_**Welcoming Feast, Hogwarts**_

"How was the ride in the Prefect cabin?" Angelina asked her as she joined her friends at the Gryffindor table.

"Exhausting," Marina grumbled and accepted the cup of orange juice Harry handed her. "Don't forget I had to content with Slytherins too."

Why Dumbledore, in his wisdom, had decided to make her Prefect, she would never understand. Her workload was extensive, given the fact that she had every intention to earn herself at least seven O.W.L.s this year – and she had not dropped any of her extracurriculars because her Dad had talked her out of it. Of course, Carmen was even more ambitious and had been named Prefect as well.

Their male partners were their exact opposite: they had absolutely no clue what they wanted to do after school so they weren't stressed out. Yet.

Before anyone could ask her anymore questions, or she had the chance to ask her own, some other students motioned for her to get up. Marina joined them up front for the Frog Choir's opening performance tonight.

Afterwards she hurried back to her seat, while Dumbledore started his usual speech.

"Welcome, welcome, to another year at Hogwarts. Now, I'd like to say a few words before we all become to befuddled by our excellent feast.

First, I'm pleased to welcome Professor R.J. Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Good luck, Professor."

Marina whirled around so fast she almost tripped. And indeed, Remus was sitting at the teacher's table, in his less than stellar robes but smiling broadly nonetheless as the hall broke into applause.

She was caught so of guard she could only stare as Alicia and Katie pulled her down on the bench and she gaped at her godfather, who was carefully avoiding her eyes. She snapped herself out of it in time to catch the tail end of the Headmaster's next announcement.

"... has decided to retire, in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I'm delighted to announce that his place will be taken by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid."

She joined the rather loud applause, that was strongest at the Gryffindor table. Marina was thrilled for her friend. The man had been expelled from Hogwarts for a crime he hadn't committed, so for him to now get this job was amazing. Of course, some small part of her brain warned her that while one of the best people she had ever known, Hagrid had a somewhat reckless attitude towards beasts.

Care of Magical Creatures would be interesting this year.

"Finally, on a more solemn note, at the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will – until further notice – play host to the dementors of Azkaban." The disgust was obvious in Dumbledore's voice and Marina could only agree.

"Until such a time, the Lestranges are captured, the dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds. Now, whilst I've been assured that their presence will not affect our day-to-day activities, a word of caution: dementors are vicious creatures. They will not distinguish between the ones they hunt and the one that gets in their way. Therefore I must warn each and every one of you: give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving. But, you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times," the Headmaster added and put out a candle with a wave of his hand. "When one only remembers to turn on the light." With another wave, the candle was burning again.

* * *

 _ **Lunch, next day**_

It was the bloody first day of the year and already Marina was just about ready to come out of her skin – then again after double History of Magic and double Potions first thing in the morning, who could blame her.

Someone needed to get Binns to move on, or whatever ghosts did, and hire a new teacher. As for Snape... well, that was a lost cause.

After lunch, she would have to endure Trelawney's nonsense – once again she was grateful for her natural ability in Divination, otherwise it would be hopeless.

And for the finale today, she had a double DADA. She was curious what Remus had come up with for the fifth-years.

"You!" Ron Weasley's voice sounded sharply and when she turned around, he was pointing a finger at her accusingly. "You could have told us Divination was bullocks."

"I did tell you," she replied and took in Harry's equally miserable expression. "Divination needs either natural talent – like mine – or a good teacher. And that is something we don't have."

"This is going to blow," Ron groaned. "First lesson ever and she predicted Harry's death."

"She did what now?" Marina asked, amused.

"Apparently, she saw the Grim in Harry's tea leaves," Hermione answered, clear derision in her voice.

Marina could have sworn she had seen Ancient Runes on the girl's schedule – and it was at the same time as Divination for the third-years. _How...?_

"McGonagall said she picks a student to die every year," Harry mumbled.

"She does," Marina easily agreed and pushed the potatoes over to her brother. "Eat. Take a wild guess who she picked my first lesson."

"Really?"

"Yes. Read it in my palm," she rolled her eyes and loaded chicken onto her plate. "But back to the point: what Trelawney saw was not the Grim."

She really couldn't get more to the point with so many people eavesdropping. Marina, as far as she knew, was the only student with the Inner Eye currently at Hogwarts. Everyone was always fascinated how a genuine seer judged the subject and its teacher.

"Then what was it?" Neville asked from a few seats down, a worried look on his face. Poor boy was awfully superstitious.

"Well, the Grim is a big, black dog," she shrugged and looked Harry in the eyes.

Marina saw the moment realisation dawned. Their teacher hadn't seen an omen of death in his tea – she had seen her Dad.

"But not every dog is the Grim. Dogs also symbolise protection – or a simple warning. And just how does one determine the dog is black anyway? Tea leaves are always black, for Merlin's sake."

The others seemed mollified by that explanation and settled down, now that they didn't need to worry about Harry dropping dead anymore.

Once everyone was suitably occupied with stuffing their faces, she turned to her brother.

"You weren't actually worried, right?" she asked quietly.

"No. But I didn't think of Sirius either," he replied in a whisper.

"Divination isn't for everyone, Harry. I'm sure McGonagall would let you switch, if you wanted."

"I saw the dog in the leaves, you know," he countered. "Besides, you can help me, right?"

"Sure. You'll just have to forgive any outbursts this year. My schedule is packed and I can't fail any of my O.W.L.s. In fact, I even need an Outstanding in Potions if I want to get into the ministry."

"Good luck with that," Harry commiserated. "On another note: did you hear about Malfoy?"

Marina snorted.

"Of course. Only Draco would milk it like this. Idiot deserved what he got for insulting a hippogriff. Trouble is, Lucius is going to make Hagrid's life hell over this."

"Can you do anything?"

"Not really. If I write to Narcissa and she does try to meddle on our behalf, Lucius will get suspicious. And as long as Dromeda and Dad refuse to talk to her, she has nowhere else to go. I can't ask her to risk her life over this."

"You think Malfoy would kill her?

"Well, maybe not himself. Lucius doesn't like to get his hands dirty. You saw that for yourself last year. But one of his Death Eater friends would."

Harry sighed into his lunch.

"Don't worry about Hagrid. He's got Dumbledore on his side. I'm more concerned about Buckbeak, to be honest."

* * *

 _ **End of day**_

Everybody was chatting excitedly. For the first time in three years, they'd actually used magic in DADA. Not only that, but they had a teacher who apparently knew what he was doing too. If only they knew.

Marina stayed behind to talk to Remus.

"You couldn't have told me?" she asked once he'd repaired what little spell damage her classmates had caused today.

"Padfoot wanted it to be a surprise," he replied and sat down. He looked entirely too tired.

"Any advice on how I'm supposed to call you _Professor_ and keep a straight face?"

"Can you imagine how it feels to call your Head of House by her first name?" Remus retorted.

"Ugh... no. I'm not that crazy."

But it sure as hell put a damper on her animagus training. She'd reached the final stages but McGonagall didn't want to let her off the leash yet. Marina would have to be very careful now.

 _ **October, Great Hall**_

To anyone watching it was just another day like any other. But when one looked closer, one would notice that the three Gryffindor Chasers and their team-mates were very worried. Even the team captain had his eyes on a fellow student, who looked very bad. Even some of the Ravenclaws were darting worried looks the girl's way.

Marina was well aware that she looked like death warmed over, thank you very much. Remus had even expressed his concern in class when she'd failed at a defensive spell she had mastered under Mad-Eye's watchful eye two years ago.

For almost a week now she'd been plagued by nightmares. But she knew that they weren't just bad dreams; her Inner Eye was warning her about something.

Two days ago she'd been to Hogsmeade, it had been the first weekend after all, and had contacted her mentor in all things Seer. Unfortunately, the woman hadn't been able to interpret her nightly visions any better than she had.

The end result of her recurring dreams and the knot in her stomach had been the rather charming picture she presented now: her hair was nowhere near tamed, she had dark circles underneath her eyes, said eyes were bloodshot and she was crankier than Snape and Filch combined.

The night before she'd had to force herself not to take points from some poor kid that had been walking too loudly for her taste at that moment.

Marina was pretty sure that Remus and Madame Pomfrey had both written to her Dad by now. _Good luck with that._ Two weeks ago he'd sent her, and Harry, a letter and explained that the ministry had offered him his job back: full reinstatement to Senior Auror.

Personally, she didn't know how he was ever going to trust any of them ever again, but of course he'd accepted; if only to get the chance to go after Bellatrix himself.

At first she'd thought that was what her nightmares were about; that she was simply worried about losing him yet again. But, apparently well aware of that, her father sent her his patronus every night when he got home. And seeing as his boss had allowed him to chose his partner himself – given understandable trust issues – even Marina knew that he would be as fine as any auror was likely to ever be.

Unfortunately, that left her with next to nothing to explain the visions. Asking Trelawney was out of the question; the fraud would spin some horribly morbid scenario out of it – the week before she'd predicted that Marina would lose her first child and never recover. When asked, however, who the father would be or how she would lose it, the woman had focused on another poor student and predicted his future doom instead.

To add to Marina's bad feeling, she'd been able to see something in the crystal ball for the first time; and none of it had been comforting at all.

There was only one thing Marina was absolutely sure about: her visions had to do with Bellatrix and whatever the bloody hell she was up to. And it turned her stomach, even though she couldn't understand it yet.

* * *

 _ **Hospital Wing, Hogwarts, November 13**_ _ **th**_

"So much for the Ministry's assurances," Carmen mumbled and squeezed Marina's shoulder.

For her part, she wasn't moving a muscle next to Harry's bed. She still wasn't over the sight of her brother falling from almost forty feet.

If Dumbledore hadn't been there and stopped his fall, he would be dead. A phoenix had burst out of the furious Headmaster's wand and chased the dementors away but the damage was done.

Marina had the awful feeling that she knew exactly what Harry heard when those monsters came near him.

"Can't Dumbledore get rid of them?" Alicia asked, pale like the rest of them.

"Not as long as Bellatrix is free, no," Marina shook her head. "Fudge won't take any chances. And those abominations' effect is worse on people who have been through trauma."

"Making Harry a prime target," Katie mumbled in sympathy.

"Our childhood trauma would have been enough, not to mention what happened with Quirrell and the Chamber," Marina agreed.

"Diggory wanted to cancel his catch. Declare it void," Angelina mentioned.

"He felt them too," Carmen suggested.

"We all felt them," Marina ground out and stood. "Stay with him, okay? I need to talk to R... Lupin."

"What if he's still sick?" Kate asked.

"He's not sick enough not to let me in," she huffed and left the hospital wing.

If her classmates and friends knew that their favourite teacher was a werewolf...

The full moon had squarely knocked Remus out for a few days – it had been one of the worse ones.

Marina was fairly sure that Hermione had figured it out, even though her two best friends had kept their word and not even told her about it. The girl was too smart for her own good sometimes and Snape had certainly dangled enough clues in front of the class.

Harry had been outraged.

Regardless, the moon had been over for two days now so Remus was completely human once again and utterly harmless – well, at least as far as teeth and claws went.

Merlin, she couldn't wait until McGonagall cleared her as an animagus and she could stay with Remus during the worst times of his life.

She knocked at his door loudly after sprinting through half the castle. There was no answer but she could sense him through the door.

"Moony, it's me," she said loudly, grateful that no one was around to hear her use his Marauder nickname.

Promptly, the door opened. He looked awful.

"This couldn't wait, I take it?" Remus grumbled and waved her in.

He was always in a sour mood after the moon.

"Well, considering that the dementors almost got Harry killed an hour ago, no."

He spun around so fast he stumbled over his cane.

"Say again?"

So she told him how Harry had spotted the Snitch and given chase, only to be overwhelmed by a few dozen dementors, and had consequently fallen off his broomstick.

Remus let lose a string of colourful curses Marina was sure he would never have used in her presence under normal circumstances.

"He's still out like a light, the team is with him. Moony, you and I both know that the Ministry won't remove them until my lunatic cousin is caught – or dead. Those monsters are here to stay, for the time being. And they seem to _really_ like Harry."

"You want me to teach him the Patronus," Remus concluded and limped over to an armchair and sat down.

"Yes. I know full well how hard that spell is but dammit, Remus, it's bad enough I have to listen to Mum and Lily dying all the time. And I'm pretty sure that's what he hears."

Pain flashed through her godfather's eyes at her words. Her mum and Lily had been his friends too after all.

"What makes you think he'll want to?" Remus asked and sighed as he leaned back.

"He wants to keep playing Quidditch and he _doesn't_ want to go insane. He'll want to."

* * *

 _ **November 17**_ _ **th**_ _ **, Great Hall, Dinner**_

"Still not sleeping better?" Harry asked rather dryly after she'd stabbed a piece of chicken with more force than necessary.

"No," she confirmed and bit back the snarl.

McGonagall had finally let her lose and she was now a fully capable, if not registered, animagus. So was Carmen.

But not even that had been enough to lighten her mood, given that her nightmares were getting worse.

"You need to train more," her brother commented, probably because he never slept better than after Quidditch.

"Yes, well, tell it to the school. We don't have Duelling here and even if we did, other students would be no match for me. Not after I've been training with aurors for so long."

"But you're coming to my extra sessions with Lupin, right?"

"Definitely. I'm still rubbish at the Patronus. I can use the practice."

For the rest of the Feast, Marina was actually in better spirits.

"What O.W.L.s do you need anyway?" Harry asked her while eating his pudding.

"Five ones minimum: Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and Potions – good times. But I'd like to get Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures too."

"Potions?" Harry repeated aghast.

"Yes. You remember David? His partner, Elias, is pretty damn good at Potions. He tutored us the past two summers whenever he had time."

"What does Carmen want to do after school?" her brother asked, his curiosity piqued.

After growing up among muggles, he obviously had no idea what wizards did for a living.

"She wants to become a Healer. Bianca actually wants to become a full-time tutor and is finishing her Arithmancy Mastery this year."

"Do you... do you know what Mum and Dad did?" Harry asked almost hesitant. "Your mum never wrote about it."

"She did actually, in her last journal. That's the one you haven't got yet," Marina told him. "Lily was going to get her Mastery in Charms and teach. James was getting his in Transfiguration, like Dad, and wanted to eventually transfer to the Office for Animagus Control – they get to teach people how to become animagi in the first place. But they never got that far."

Silence reigned for a few moments and she could feel him fighting the grief overcoming him. Then he forced himself to change the subject.

"Do you have time tomorrow to help me with my Runes homework? I'm totally behind."

Like Marina had said, McGonagall had allowed Harry to switch subjects – though she suspected her Dad had convinced his old teacher to do it.

"Of course. But why not ask Hermione?"

Not that she didn't want to help him but she had her own load of studying to do – Potions was driving her round the bend.

"Ron and Hermione are fighting and-"

He never got to finish because Dumbledore rose from his seat and everybody went silent.

"I have a short announcement to make before we all go off to bed," he announced merrily – but nothing about the old wizard's emotions was merry. "Due to certain... events of late, the Ministry has decided to post a squad of Aurors here at Hogwarts, in order to keep the guards in check."

Oh that was rich. So now they were posting aurors to protect them from the creatures that were supposed to protect them. Genius.

Marina couldn't find it in her to complain, though. Not after what had happened on the Quidditch pitch – and not when she saw that among the squad of aurors entering the hall, were David and Elias.

She twisted to look over her shoulder and met Carmen's grin. Her friend had known about it, apparently.

"I would ask-," Dumbledore continued, "-that the Prefects stay a moment longer to coordinate with our new house guests. That would be all, good night!"

Made sense. Prefects were the only students allowed to roam the castle after curfew, and the aurors would have to know which students to expect on patrol.

Carmen, Marina and the others went over to the aurors and shook their hands – save for Elias and David who got hugs.

"You volunteered for this, didn't you?" Marina asked as David took a step back.

"And if we did?" She just shook her head.

"How's Jenna?"

She had finally gotten the name of his girlfriend out of Ty a few days ago – not that it was any of her business...

"Off hunting treasure," he smiled and his feelings turned all weird.

"She's a Curse Breaker?"

That was what the employees of Gringotts were called; people whose sole mission it was to accumulate wealth for their goblin employers.

David just nodded and then they turned back to the others, coming back to the matter at hand.

But before anyone could utter a word, something fell down from the ceiling – it was only then that Marina noticed that just about no one had left the hall; the students were too curious for that.

Nothing harmful could pass through the castle's protections – put in place by Dumbledore himself – so no one was particularly worried. Marina recognised it as someone's Patronus.

And then the caster's emotions, clinging to the silvery form, hit her full force and her knees buckled. From the corner of her eyes, she saw David and Carmen reach out to catch her but it was too late. She hit the ground and groaned as a splitting headache started pulsing behind her eyes.

She had felt malevolence like that before, only the previous year actually, but both times it had been muted since Voldemort had not been anywhere near human or full strength.

But the Dark Lord hadn't sent the Patronus, which now formed into a snake and slithered towards her. No, there was something else suffusing the ethereal image – pure madness.

Marina knew who had sent it even before the snake opened its mouth to deliver the message.

" _Good evening, my dear little cousin,_ " Bellatrix' voice sounded through the entire Great Hall, sickeningly sweet and her trademark cackle behind the words. " _Congratulations on freeing that mutt of a father of yours. Perhaps you'll prove smarter than he did. I want what is rightfully mine, dear girl._ "

An image of a home library flashed through Marina's mind; suddenly her dreams were starting to make sense.

" _I don't think I have to tell you what will happen if you refuse me, Marina. You know what happened to darling Rose._ "

She clenched her teeth, even as Carmen cursed behind her.

" _And who knows. With all this time on my hands, maybe I'll put the Longbottom boy on top of my list._ "

David inhaled sharply.

" _48 hours, cousin. 48 hours._ "

The Patronus dissipated, message delivered.

Suddenly, a lot of people were hurrying towards her. David and Carmen hugged her from both sides, while Elias and the other aurors kept the others – except Remus – at bay.

Marina's head felt two seconds away from exploding and Bellatrix' emotions had left a sick feeling in her gut. Still, none of that compared to the utter horror she was feeling herself.

Bella had thought she could threaten Marina into complying. Little did her cousin know she'd accomplished the opposite.

Because Marina knew exactly what Bella was after – and if the maniac ever got her hands on it, the Dark Lord would rise again. She _**so**_ needed to talk to her Dad.


	15. Author's Info !

**Hello everyone! So, while doing the last (and halfway the next) chapter I realised that I was making and going to make a lot of references to presents I didn't mention before... (I cut them out when rewriting)**

 **So here is a list of the presents that are probably going to come up again – just for info.**

 **Thx guys!**

* * *

 **Christmas Presents 1991:**

Invisibility Cloak → (Dumbledore to Harry)

Flute → (Hagrid to Harry)

emerald green jumper → (Mrs Weasley to Harry)

Chocolate Frogs → (Hermione to Harry)

Rose Herondale Journal → (Marina to Harry)

 _Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms_ → (David to Marina)

 _Dreadful Denizens of the Deep_ → (Carmen to Marina)

Duelling robes → (Tonks to Marina)

muggle books → (Marina to Carmen)

sneakoscope → (Marina to David)

maroon jumper → (Mrs Weasley to Ron)

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans → (Hermione to Ron)

blue "F" jumper → (Mrs Weasley to Fred)

blue "G" jumper → (Mrs Weasley to George)

* * *

 **Christmas Presents 1992:**

Flying with the Cannons → (Ron to Harry)

eagle-feather quill → (Hermione to Harry)

Rose Herondale Journals → (Marina to Harry)

 _Quidditch Throughout the Ages_ → (Marina to Harry)

 _Rune Dictionary_ → (Harry to Marina)

 _Merpeople: A Comprehensive Guide to their Language & Customs_ → (Carmen to Marina)

 _Jinxes for the Jinxed_ → (Marina to Carmen)

 _Extraordinary Trials in History_ → (Marina to David)

 _Laws of Conduct: When Dealing with Muggles_ → (Carmen to Elias)

 _Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions_ → (Elias to Carmen)

* * *

 **Christmas Presents 1993:**

scarlet Gryffindor jumper → (Mrs Weasley to Harry)

sneakoscope → (Ron to Harry)

Broomstick Servicing Kit → (Hermione to Harry)

Firebolt → (Sirius to Harry)

 _Seeker Weekly_ subscription → (Marina to Harry)

red-gold stag brooch → (Marina to Harry)

Marauder's Portrait → (Marina to Sirius)

sneakoscope → (Marina/Harry to Sirius)

Chocolate Frogs → (Harry to Sirius)

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans → (Harry to Sirius)

scrying mirror → (David to Marina)

 _Transformation Throughout the Ages_ → (Sirius to Marina)

 _An Anthology of Eighteenth Century Charms_ → (Harry to Marina)

 _Omen, Oracles and the Goat_ → (Carmen to Marina)

Probity Probe → (Marina to David)

 _New Theory of Numerology_ → (Marina to Carmen)

magic camera → (Elias to Carmen)

 _My Life as a Muggle_ → (David to Carmen)

Secrecy Sensor → (Carmen to Elias)


	16. The Calm (I)

For the next two days, Marina avoided everyone. Aside from going to class, studying and helping Harry with his Runes homework, the only thing she was doing was freaking out.

After Bellatrix' lovely message, Remus had contacted her Dad and Marina had translated the lunatic's gibberish for them.

Given her father's incarceration, his grandfather Arcturus – who had been very displeased with his son and daughter-in-law – had left everything to Marina: the family fortune, the Black House in London and his very own Gringotts vault.

She had signed most of it over to her Dad after he'd been released but Black House was still hers in name. Due to the family protection spells, no one could enter without permission from the owner.

Bellatrix was after the private family library; in it were several books with dark spells. Marina had been surprised the Ministry hadn't seized most of it, given the law's restrictions on what could be passed down and what couldn't. It had been Mad-Eye who'd explained that it was entirely possible that her grandparents, Orion and Walburga, had made it so that no one outside the family could even see the contents in that room. Either way, she had spent a few weeks browsing through the stuff and then vowed never to set foot in that dungeon of a Death Eater cave ever again.

She remembered the book Bella wanted clearly. It described a ritual to return someone to the living – using the foulest magic there was. If she'd thought it possible, Marina would have destroyed that book, but mostly they had protective spells against that.

Consequently, one could only assume that Bella had found her master somewhere and was planning on bringing him back. That was one of the reasons why Harry, Marina and Neville now had a round-the-clock protective detail. The aurors assigned to protecting the school now also took turns protecting them. Personally, she thought it was a waste of time.

"Keeping you alive is hardly a waste of time," Elias argued when she told him as much.

"The two day deadline is up and nothing happened, Elias. And how exactly do you think she could possibly get past the wards? Dumbledore and Mad-Eye both reinforced them."

"She has help."

Marina was impressed with the choke-hold the man had on his emotions. She could barely detect the underlying fear in that statement.

"He is in no condition to be a threat right now. I'm more concerned with what they're after – tell me your boss posted aurors around Grimmauld Place."

"Sirius made sure he did," Elias grinned.

"Good. Then, for the time being, the only thing I'm worried are my O.W.L.s – is it against the rules for you to quiz me while on duty?"

"Technically, yes. Practically, who's going to find out?"

Marina squeezed his hand, careful that no one saw it, and blocked out the curious students around.

"Okay. Potion ingredients and their uses. Go."

* * *

 _ **December 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **1993**_

"Aren't you supposed to be off today?" Marina asked David as he relieved his colleague from bodyguard duty. "It's the Hogsmeade weekend."

"All the more reason to keep an eye on you."

"It's been over a month and nothing has happened", she grumbled.

Someone must have heard her prayers because as often as possible, it was David or Elias playing her shadow.

"Doesn't mean it won't," he replied sternly – but his eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Yes, I'm cranky. But you try having someone tail you almost 24/7 and see how you like it."

"I'm that bad company, am I?" he teased and slung an arm around her shoulders as they walked out the castle.

"Not you – just the others. And isn't this against protocol?" Marina added with a shrug, moving his arm a bit.

"Not as long as I'm doing my job."

She leaned against him and they walked down the path in silence. Carmen was already up ahead with some of her Ravenclaw friends and the Weasley twins had whisked away Marina's other friends pretty early – _Zonko's_ would be empty by the end of the day.

"Who's on Harry today?" she asked, well aware that she was a hypocrite. Her brother didn't like his shadow any more than she did, but she was very relieved he had it.

"Talbot," David answered, squeezing her lightly. "Mad-Eye and your Dad helped hand-pick us all, you know. They're good."

"No offence to you and your colleagues, David, but Harry has a habit of letting trouble find him. If he thinks, even for a second, that he can help someone..."

"Relax," David ordered. "We got this. Besides, aren't you two going home for Christmas?"

As if he'd flipped a switch, Marina's mood instantly improved, just as they reached the village.

"Yes. Dad's first Christmas out and Harry's first Christmas at a real home."

"There you have it. Your house is warded a dozen times."

"Duly noted," she replied dryly. "What about you? Home for Christmas?"

"Of course," he answered smoothly but she could sense his anxiety spike and huffed a laugh.

"Let me guess: Laura wants you to bring Jenna."

The two of them entered the _Three Broomsticks_ and shook off the chill. As per usual, Madame Rosmerta had plenty to do; the place was full.

"To be honest, I don't think I will," David finally replied and Rosmerta waved at them to let them know she'd bring their butterbeers.

"Too early?" Marina tried very hard to ignore the stares and 'd think they would all have become used to her constant shadows but no such luck. She remained the number one gossip. The only upside was that Harry and Neville were spared that since everyone was so focused on her.

"Well, that and Jenna doesn't want to come."

Marina raised her eyebrows at that one. His family meant everything to David.

"Maybe _she_ thinks it's too early," she suggested and nodded at Rosmerta in thanks as two butterbeers settled in front of them. Mentally though, she figured it was a bad sign; she might only have caught onto David's feelings a few months ago, but according to Ty he'd been seeing Jenna for almost a year. Or not...

"Hard to imagine, given that we've been dating since Hogwarts," David grumbled and Marina almost choked on her sip of drink.

"Three years? You've been seeing her for _three years_ and no one knew?"

The man had the grace to look appropriately sheepish.

"On and off. No one asked," he shrugged. "They all just assumed I was too busy."

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Marina moaned quietly. "Don't tell Laura that. Hell, don't tell your sisters that. They'll skin you on principle."

"That's why we agreed not to tell _anybody_ ," someone said behind her and she winced. Didn't take a genius to guess who it was.

"Jenna-," David started but the woman must have gestured for him to stop or something because he didn't even start apologising.

Marina didn't turn around or stand up – the last thing they needed was to draw attention. Apparently, Jenna agreed because she sat down next to her boyfriend without a fuss.

"Jenna Hastings," she introduced herself, doing an admirable job of tampering her irritation.

"Marina Black," she replied and shook the woman's hand. "Nice to meet you."

Except right that minute, it wasn't. Marina had never been particularly vain – why would she be? She didn't spend hours in front of the mirror, trying to master grooming spells. She had let Dromeda pick out most her wardrobe, for crying out loud, because fashion hadn't really mattered either; up until last year when she had become that creature called teenager.

But sitting there, Marina felt awfully... inadequate. Jenna Hastings was, simply put, gorgeous. Her perfectly fitting dragon hide clothes punctuated her hour-glass figure and, despite her reddened cheeks from the cold, you could see her skin was flawless. Even her golden blonde hair was perfect underneath her winter cap.

And here Marina was in her comfortable jeans and duelling league sweater. _Someone stun her now_.

"I thought you were in Brazil," David said after a moment and took Jenna's hand.

"Someone beat me to it," Jenna answered with a smile and leaned in to kiss him lightly.

Marina frowned into the table. Something was very off about Jenna's emotions – she didn't sense a woman in love. Woefully without experience as she was, she would sooner swallow Polyjuice Potion de Snape before she said anything but... …

Or maybe she was just so used to Bianca and her new love that she was overstimulated. Maybe that's what love felt like after three years.

Yes, well, she didn't believe that either. Jupiter and Laura didn't sense like this and neither did Ted and Dromeda.

Still, she was so not sticking her nose in there.

"Sorry," Jenna said once those two tore their eyes off each other. "It's just been a while."

"No problem – I'd give you some privacy but unfortunately..."

"I'm assigned to keep her alive and Marina takes issue with that," David finished with a smirk.

Marina harrumphed and leaned back, crossing her arms.

"At this point I almost wish she'd make her move and get it over with. Waiting is worse."

"Just focus on your O.W.L.s and leave her to us," David suggested.

"Easier said than done. Besides, except for Potions and History of Magic, there is nothing left to do except pay attention in class. That's where my photographic memory comes in handy," she added and pulled out her studying schedule to show him.

 **Monday**

 _8.00 – 9.00 breakfast_

9.10 – 11.45 classes

 _12.00 – 1.00 lunch_

1.10 – 3.45 classes

4.00 – 5.15 Astronomy

 _5.30 – 6.30 dinner_

7.00 – 8.00 History of Magic

 **Tuesday**

 _8.00 – 9.00 breakfast_

9.10 – 11.45 classes

 _12.00 – 1.00 lunch_

1.10 – 3.45 classes

4.00 – 5.15 Potions

 _5.30 – 6.30 dinner_

7.00 – 8.00 Defence Against the Dark Arts

 **Wednesday**

 _8.00 – 9.00 breakfast_

9.10 – 11.45 classes

 _12.00 – 1.00 lunch_

1.10 – 3.45 classes

4.00 – 5.15 Charms

 _5.30 – 6.30 dinner_

7.00 – 8.00 Ancient Runes

 **Thursday**

 _8.00 – 9.00 breakfast_

9.10 – 11.45 classes

 _12.00 – 1.00 lunch_

1.10 – 3.45 classes

4.00 – 5.15 History of Magic

 _5.30 – 6.30 dinner_

0.00 – 1.45 class

 **Friday**

 _8.00 – 9.00 breakfast_

9.10 – 11.45 classes

 _12.00 – 1.00 lunch_

1.10 – 3.45 classes

4.00 – 5.15 Herbology

 _5.30 – 6.30 dinner_

7.00 – 8.00 Potions

 **Saturday**

 _8.00 – 9.00 breakfast_

9.15 – 2.00 Duelling League

2.10 – 3.00 extracurricular

 _5.30 – 6.30 dinner_

7.00 – 8.00 Charms

8.00 – 9.00 Defence Against the Dark Arts

9.00 – 10.00 Ancient Runes

10.00 – 11. 00 Astronomy

 **Sunday**

 _8.00 – 9.00 breakfast_

 _12.00 – 1.00 lunch_

1.00 – 1.45 Divination

1.45 – 3.15 Potions

3.15 – 4.00 Transfiguration

4.00 – 5.30 Charms

 _5.30 – 6.30 dinner_

7.00 – 8.00 Care of Magical Creatures

8.00 – 9.00 Herbology

"You can't keep that up all year," David told her once he was done gaping.

"I'll have to try. Besides, Carmen came up with it so it should be fine."

"How so? It looks pretty stuffed."

"I'm not gone every Saturday – not yet anyway. And if I don't win my Junior League Cup duel in February, it's mute anyway. Plus, the Quidditch weekends..."

The first had, of course, been a disaster of epic proportions that had ended with Harry's broomstick in pieces. Marina had never seen him so dejected during the school year.

"Either way, the theory won't be a problem," Marina sighed and took another sip. "Since I literally _can't_ forget anything – at least not for a few years – it will be a breeze. Practical is the issue."

"You can cast anything," David disagreed. "There isn't a spell yet you haven't managed."

"Except the Patronus. Hopefully that will change soon. But it's Charms I'm worried about. And, of course, Potions. The only upside is that Snape won't be grading me."

"Elias can help you with that."

Marina snorted a laugh.

"You're not trainees anymore, David. He's working. Besides, there is only so much tutoring he can do. At some point I'll just have to get a sense for brewing."

"What about Runes?"

"Better than ever," she grinned. "Tutoring Harry in it helps me almost as much as him."

"I thought he took Divination?"

"Oh he did. And all it took was Trelawney to go and predict his death in three lessons in a row and he went to McGonagall to switch. He's pretty good at Runes, actually."

"Why not Arithmancy?" asked Jenna. "It's useful for a lot of jobs."

"I don't think he's thinking that far ahead yet. He took Care of Magical Creatures because he's interested and Divination because he thought it would be easy to pass. And I think he went for Runes because now he has three people to help him out if need be. But I don't think he'll need it. Another session or two and he'll be caught up enough to do it without tutoring."

That was probably more information than the woman had bargained for but Marina tended to babble when she was talking about Harry.

"Three people?" David asked, smiling. His feelings always turned all warm and fuzzy when it became obvious that she was in big-sister mode.

"Hermione, me and Dad – he had an Outstanding." Good thing too. Some dark magic traps were ancient and therefore written in runes.

"How is your father?" Jenna asked, sounding sympathetic. Sounding, but not feeling. Marina was guessing David hadn't told his girlfriend about her empathy – otherwise she would probably try and tamper down the resentment Marina was sensing.

"Getting better every day," she replied anyway. "Especially since he got his job back. That one I will never understand."

"You want to become an auror," David mused.

"Yes, but I didn't spend twelve years in Azkaban after the people who were supposed to have my back put me there."

David opened his mouth, presumably to assure her somehow, but frowned instead. He reached into his coat pocket – and pulled out his spinning, whistling sneakoscope.

"Must be broken," Jenna commented after all three of them had scanned the room, hands on their wands. Nothing seemed out of place.

"Or reacting to the twins," Marina grumbled as she saw them outside. "Merlin knows some of their pranks can be dangerous."

"Don't tell them that, it encourages them," Ron said and Marina turned to see the trio emergre from the crowd.

"I know," she told Ron. "So how is your Hogsmeade trip?"

"Great," Harry assured her – but she didn't miss the quick look at his shadow. Talbot was very discreet. If she hand't known he was there, she wouldn't have seen him.

"You were at _Honeydukes_ yet?"

"No, we were saving it for last," Hermione said. "Otherwise we'd have to carry stuff around the whole time." She seemed uncharacteristically quiet.

"Oh by the way:," Ron said with a broad grin. "Your Dad told mine about your duel. We're all coming."

"How?" Marina demanded incredulously. "It's on the 5th of February. In the middle of school."

"Well," David hedged and grinned when she glared at him. "Between both our fathers and Mr Weasley, they managed to wrangle permission from the Ministry, the Board of Govenors and Dumbledore. Everyone on the list who wants to go can go."

"Lovely. So I'll have a bigger audience when I lose."

"I take offence at that," David said. "We trained you well; you won't lose." Marina smiled.

"How are you possibly going to manage that?" she asked anyway. "Everyone who leaves Hogwarts will need protection. Those three here, the twins, Ginny, your sister, your brother... the Ministry can't possibly spare that many aurors."

"I don't think there is anything they'll deny Sirius anytime soon," David said. "Fudge is still scrambling to look good – and one word from you or Sirius against him would ruin that."

It was only when they all got up and moving, to go to _Honeydukes_ and then back to the castle, that Marina realised that everyone had seemingly forgotten that Jenna was there – including David. Something was definitely wrong with them. _Merry Christmas._

* * *

 _ **Christmas Day, 1993**_

Marina woke up to the smell of breakfast. Who would have thought a wizard, raised in a pure-blood hell, would know how to cook. And so well too.

She took a moment to settle. It was the first night she'd spent in her brand-new bedroom. It was about twice as big as her space in the girls' dormitory. The floor was ashwood, so a lot brighter than she was used to. Curtains in scarlet red and gold covered her two windows, marking this a Gryffindor's space – along with the drapes in the same colours that hung off her four-poster bed.

Sitting up in said bed, her back was to the windows and she was facing the door – which was covered in her coats and jackets. On the left wall, same side as the bed, was her rather big closet; that must have been Dromeda's input.

To the right, directly underneath one of the windows, was her desk. On it was her very on wireless.

The right wall of the room, however, was covered in photos – her Dad must've gotten them from the Notts; except for one part of it, which was covered by the Duelling League emblem: two wands crossed, one white, one black, on silver background with golden sparks shooting out of the tips.

Simple but straightfoward.

The emblem was right above another door and Marina still couldn't believe wher it led. Her idiot father had bought a house where everyone had his or her own bathroom. Even the guestroom, where Remus was currently staying, had one.

Hers was completely sea-green – bathtub and walk-in shower and all, themed as an underwater paradise.

It must have cost him a fortune.

She proceeded to get up, take a shower and check if Harry was up yet. His room was opposite hers – though her walls were soundproof. Marina highly suspected that Dromeda had warned her Dad about her habit of listening to rather loud music. She knocked, but didn't get an answer. Braving her luck, she opened the door.

Harry's room had the same layout as her own. On the right was his closet and further in the rather giant four-poster bed. Scarlet and gold curtains hung off of it as well, and the window curtains even sported the Gryffindor lion – as did the wall on the left. Under the left window was a desk too and the wireless on it was cranked up, spouting Quidditch results.

Harry had been thrilled to finally have a means to catch up, and stay caught up, on wizarding events.

A Quidditch-themed carpet covered most of the hardwood floor.

Just then, Harry exited his bathroom with his hair still wet. From where she stood, she could see it had a Golden Snitch theme. Her father was a goof.

"Ready for breakfast?" she asked and pointed her wand to turn of WWN (Wizarding Wireless Network).

"Do you cook?" Harry asked her as he put on his glasses and they made for downstairs.

"The muggle way I can do – thanks to Ted. But I could never figure out the household spells. It drives Dromeda nuts that Dora and I can't even do our laundry," Marina said sheepisshly as they entered the kitchen.

"I could never do that either," her Dad said, his back still turned.

The last four months had worked wonders. Between regular meals and being able to go outside, her father looked like his old self again. Even the haunted look in his eyes had diminished somewhat, thanks to the sessions with Teresa that Dromeda had continued to force him to. Now he was going voluntarily.

The kitchen table was decked out with fried and scrambled eggs, lots and lots of bacon, pancakes, cornflakes, cereal and fruit. He'd even bought pumpkin juice for Harry and orange juice for her.

"You don't have to imitate Hogwarts, you know," she said dryly.

"Turning burns a lot of calories," he shrugged and dug in. So he still turned into Padfoot a lot.

"Yes, I know," she agreed. "The full moon is Wednesday."

It would be the first time she joined Remus during the transformation. There was just the small matter of telling him that.

"I've talked to Molly – they're happy to have Harry that night and the one after," her Dad informed them while shoveling another load of bacon. Marina hurried to get herself a portion – she was pretty sure she was the only person ever to eat bacon wrapped in pancakes.

"And Marina is going to Ted and Dromeda, I presume?" Remus asked as he entered the kitchen and made straight fo the fruit. For a werewolf he was little of a carnivore.

"Well... no."

He stopped short, the piece of grapefruit halfway in the air, and fixed her with _the look_.

"We've had this argument before. You're not staying anywhere near me during a full moon."

Bracing herself for his reaction, she took a gulp of juice before she replied.

"That was before I became an animagus."

The second piece of grapefruit actually fell out of his hand as he gaped at her, slack-jawed.

"You did _what_?" Remus asked, completely flabberghasted. Marina had never seen him like that.

"I started the summer after my fourth year – under McGonagall's supervision."

Harry, apparently aware that this signified some sort of issue, kept eating and switching his eyes from one person to the next as if tracing a snitch . He'd get whiplash if he kept that up.

Remus just kept staring, a painful mix of gratitude and outrage rising in him. Also, a healthy dose of disbelief.

So Marina stood, took a step back – and turned.

The transformation itself wasn't painful, exactly. It just felt really weird as her body changed so drastically. Her bones shrunk, her skin along with it, and her hands and feet turned into claws. Even more odd though was when fur burst out of her pores – it was such an alien feeling she'd almost gone mental the first few times. Her tongue roughened, her eyes changed focus as her pupils became slits, and her hearing got better. Of course, during all this she also shrunk down considerably, losing two feet of her already small frame. And last but not least her back crouched until she was standing on four limbs instead of two.

Once the process was done, she lifted her right forepaw and rubbed her nose. A feline nose was always better than a human one and it made her want to sneeze.

Then she leapt back up her chair, sat back on her haunches and looked up at the lot of them.

Harry looked gobsmacked and fascinated at the same time and reached over to pet her slowly, as if afraid she'd bite. Someone needed to tell him that her mind was still human.

Remus stared at her unblinkingly, but with a sheen of tears in his eyes.

And her Dad looked impossibly pround, beaming from one ear to the other. Then he reached over and patted Remus on the back, feeling all mushy.

"Merry Christmas, Moony."


	17. The Calm (II)

Marina's plan had worked without a hitch. Faced with her animagus training already accomplished, Remus hadn't been able to argue.

Christmas Eve had been just the four of them, so today they were having lunch with the Tonks and the Notts. Merlin help Harry handle her crazy family.

Right now her brother was putting on his Quidditch clothes and getting ready to fly. There were about 245 acres of forest right behind their backyard and her Dad and Remus had walked in for about five minutes before clearing out trees – they'd turned it into firewood and given it to a muggle homeless shelter – so there was a practice field.

"Will aurors be there?" Harry grumbled but his mood instantly changed when he grabbed his new broomstick. Her father was a genius: he'd bought him the best broomstick on the market so far. Even Marina had to admit that the _Firebolt_ was pretty damn beautiful.

Hermione had been in on it and had gotten him a Broomstick Servicing Kit, so it was a good thing he'd spend so much money to get his overachieving friend a new schoolbag – complete with

Undetectable Extension and Light-As-a-Feather Charms. Now she could haul around as many books and supplies as she wanted and wouldn't even feel the weight.

"Not today," she replied belatetly. "Dad's technically on vacation but he'll be on protective duty. You got your sneakoscope?" Ron had outdone himself, getting one for him. Harry, in turn, had asked her Dad to get Ron tickets for the next match of his Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons.

The trio had sure put Marina to shame this year, as far as presents went. Even if, as she noted with a small smile, Harry had the red-gold stag brooch she'd gotten him pinned to his robe.

"Yes. But Sirius is taking the one we got him, right?"

"Naturally. Always have it with you, Harry, especially with my mental case of a cousin on the lose."

"What will you be doing?" Harry asked as they watched her Dad grab the Nimbus 2001 he'd gotten for the house. The Black Family vault must have screamed in protest at losing so much money at once; then again the _compensation_ from the Ministry had helped.

"Studying for my O.W.L.s and reading the book Carmen got me." Some best friends they were – giving each other books for Christmas.

"And Professor Lupin?"

" _Remus_ is out getting the next creature he's going to throw at you in class." He really needed to stop calling him Professor at home; among other things because her Dad always burst out chuckling when he did.

She really expected him to nod and then run out to fly – it was the first quality time alone he got with his godfather. Instead, he made sure said wizard was outside and couldn't hear before looking at her, getting all nervous.

"You think I can become an animagus too?" he asked so fast she almost didn't understand him.

Marina sighed under her breath – she really should have seen this coming (no, the irony of that statement given her reluctance of Seeing was not lost on her). After she'd turned back human, her brother had spent the remainder of breakfast questioning her and Dad about animagi. The process was a tedious and time-consuming one but that hadn't seemed to bother him.

Chanting the bloody incantation every night before bed was the least annoying part. The potion was mighty difficult and if one thing went wrong you could end up turning into an animal forever or having a tail or scales forever – and you had to brew it yourself because, much like Polyjuice Potion, it needed your hair. Never mind the bloody Mandrake you had to harvest yourself.

Elias and David were both animagi too, though she had no clue what animals, so they'd supervised Carmen and Marina during the practice potions – they'd vanished them afterwards so no one could come to harm. When they'd gotten it right three times in a row, Elias had declared that they were ready for the real thing. Since the man was getting his Potions Mastery without even working with his master full time and while working as an auror, even McGonagall trusted his judgment.

The only improvement to all of it was that you didn't have to wait for an actual thunderstorm anymore to finish it – someone had invented the Lightning Curse which worked just as well. She had mentally thanked the very brave (or insane) wizard who'd tested it and risked the Animagus Potion backfiring.

And after all of that, the real training started. Turning at will was harder than it sounded, given you needed a great deal of focus, if only for a few seconds to start the transformation. But then what? As an animal you had muscles you hadn't had before or had never used. So the next step was physical exercise in your animagus form, and the turning back afterwards.

Overall it took several months before you could change at will, run or fly around as an animal, and change back again without having very sore muscles the next day.

Now there was Harry, thirteen years old, and wanted to do it. Marina could hardly blame him when everyone in the family could change.

"You won't turn into a stag, Harry," she cautioned. "The animagus form comes from your personality and the stag just isn't you."

"That's okay, Professor McGonagall mentioned that," Harry said quietly. "But you said you did it because you get into trouble a lot and well... I'm hoping for a bird actually."

She reached out and ruffled his hair.

"Alright. I'll ask McGonagall about it – because you're only doing it if she helps."

"Thanks!" he beamed and hugged her. "I'll ask Ron and Hermione too!" With that rather troubling announcement he finally went outside to have fun with his godfather.

Marina watched with a broad smile as they mounted their broomstick and zoomed in the direction of the training field. An image flashed through her head, of a very exasperated Minerva McGonagall surrounded by a few third-years, and she choked a laugh. Apparently, Harry would get his wish. And he wasn't the only one.

* * *

 _ **Lunchtime, Christmas Day**_

The Notts' living room was full. Marina still wasn't sure exactly how they'd fit all seventeen of them in the dining room. She absently wondered just how they were going to manage at New Year's when, as a surprise for Harry, they'd all get together with the Weasleys and the Grangers.

Bianca had, of course, brought her fiancé. Talib Onkoro was the man's name. The eldest Nott had come home with him right after school had started again, had told her parents he'd proposed and then they'd stayed a month so the man could get to know her family and vice versa.

According to a very impressed Laura, he'd gone to Uagadou, the African Wizarding School, and graduated with high marks. Jupiter, equally fond of his future son-in-law, had proceeded to tell everyone that Talib was an Advocate and had just finished his Mastery in Law.

Talib himself, clearly uncomfortable with all the praise, had just said that his occupation would make it easier for him to move to England, if that's what Bianca wanted once her Mastery was done.

With that one statement, Bianca's siblings were sold on their future brother as well and she was so happy Marina got dizzy from it.

Nobody mentioned Jenna's absence and Marina didn't dare comment on David's indifference to it.

But the biggest surprise of all had been someone else: Benjamin and Theo Nott had attended the family Christmas celebration. For the first time in 25 years, the brothers were under the same roof for the holidays.

It had been very tense and awkward at first.

But then Harry, bless his heart, had teased Theo about how Gryffindor was going to beat Slytherin on the Quidditch pitch and Theo, to everyone's shock, had replied that it wouldn't be hard to do given the team was made of trolls instead of athletes. The boys had blinked, stunned by their agreement, and the ice had been broken.

Between Laura and Dromeda there had been a Feast worthy of Hogwarts and everyone had stuffed themselves just as much as everyone always did at the castle.

Now Harry was sitting next to Theo and they were animatedly chatting with Remus about how he had encountered all the creatures he kept confronting them with. He was grinning broader with every story he told, as the boys' eyes got wider and wider.

Her Dad was sitting with the other parents and they were discussing who knew what. Hopefully, given that it was Christmas, it wasn't work-related.

Marina was sitting with Carmen, her older siblings, Talib and Elias and had just finished telling them what had happened this morning.

"He wants to become an animagus?" Bianca replied bemused when she was done.

"Yes. It shouldn't have surprised me. Between Dad and me, and James back then, half the people he knows are animagi. Plus, it would be a great ace up his sleeve the next time he gets into trouble."

And there would be a next time, she had no illusions about that.

"What did Sirius say?" Elias asked curiously. Marina shook her head.

"I haven't told him yet. I told Harry I'd ask McGonagall about it – there is no point in freaking Dad and Remus out if she says No."

"You told him he probably won't be a stag, right?" David questioned and conjured them all a new round of eggnog.

"I did. But that didn't bother him at all. He says he's hoping for a bird."

Something else she should have known. She'd seldom seen anyone, aside from Carmen, who loved flying so much. It would be different as a bird, but he'd still love it if her best friend was any indication.

"Did you warn him that if he got his wish he'd be sore for three or four months?" Carmen grumbled but her blue eyes sparkled merrily – she always turned into her red kite form and flew when she couldn't risk a broomstick because they were too close to muggles.

It was just fortunate she actually turned into an animal native to Britain.

Marina's own lynx form had only been native a few centuries ago but they'd been reintroduced through breeding a few decades back; lucky for her.

"No. But if he does turn into a bird, would you mind giving him flying lessons? McGonagall is great with the process and all – but she's a cat. She doesn't have wings and wing-muscles."

"Sure thing," Carmen agreed immediately. "Is he going to do it alone?"

"I doubt it," Marina snorted. "He already said he'd ask Ron and Hermione. And I had a Seeing that suggests that one more will join them."

Before any of them could ask, Laura called Carmen and Bianca over to help her with something. Elias mumbled something about getting ready and went upstairs.

"You think McGonagall will go for it?" David asked and took Carmen's seat next to her.

"I know she will. That Seeing was too specific to not come true."

"Splendid," Talib commented, his African accent still pretty pronounced. "It is a magnificent experience." Given that he'd only been here for roughly four months, his English was excellent.

Marina narrowed her eyes and looked at him more closely, sensing joy.

And for the first time in her life, she had a Seeing on command: replacing Talib with a hyena.

"So it's true what I've read?" she asked him. "Everyone at Uagadou becomes an animagus?"

"Most of us," he nodded, smiling as he realised she'd figured him out.

Then Bianca called his name and Marina felt his heart literally skip a beat before a goofy smile spread over his face. Those two had it really bad.

She looked over at Harry and saw he was playing Exploding Snap with Theo. Who would have thought? Slytherins and Gryffindors could get along.

"He looks happy," David commented, following her gaze.

"He is," she confirmed. "The only time I ever sensed that from him before was on the pitch. And the day Dad was declared innocent."

She waited a beat, but David didn't bring up any other subject, so she figured she might as well get it over with – she was too curious for her own damn good.

"So... you're okay with Jenna not being here?"

"You need to ask?" he countered but was still smiling.

"No but... that doesn't really make any sense."

"You sensed it in Hogsmeade already, didn't you?"

"Hey, I wish I wouldn't sense everything," she said defensively. "Most of the things I sense, I don't want to know. If you can come up with a spell or potion to block it, you let me know."

David put both their glasses on the side table and hugged her with one arm, leaning back.

"When I said Jenna and I have been seeing each other on and off since Hogwarts, I should have said mostly off. Last time we were separated for almost a year. She came back when she got the job she wanted."

Marina wisely bit her tongue. Jenna was officially a fool. No woman with half her brain cells intact would pass up a chance to be with David.

Sure, he had a lousy temper when you caught him on a bad day, but you just had to know how to handle him in a mood. And he loathed every student or alumni of Durmstrang on principle – which was just plain unfair; it wasn't their fault their Headmaster was a Death Eater.

But other than that, David was a great catch – his own sisters even said so, if not to his face.

"And this time?" she asked, hoping her derision wouldn't sound through.

"This time the split is permanent," he answered, with a sense of finalty about it.

"Sorry." _Not sorry_.

"No, it's better like this. We've both changed. She really doesn't like you," he added jokingly. But Marina was well aware that he was serious.

"Yes, well, I really don't like her either. On principle."

"And on that cheery note-," David said and got all giddy inside – not something she sensed too often from grown men. "-your present." He pulled out a 6 inch long and 5 inch broad object, gift-wrapped and flat.

"Which part of _you don't have to get me presents_ did not register?" she asked. Elias and David lived in Central London, close to the office, and most their salary was spent on rent and... well, food.

David just made a get-on-with-it gesture and Marina ripped away the paper.

She almost dropped it in shock when she saw what it was.

" _Merlin_. David, you're crazy," she whispered, awed.

That sodding fool had gotten her a Scrying Mirror. They were very rare, as only a few people made them and only bothered to do so every few years. Not to mention they cost a fortune.

With one of those magical mirrors, seers could control their Sight better; could channel the vague images into actual ones.

"It wasn't as expensive as you think," he assured her at her stunned epression. "I know the witch who made it and when she heard it was for you, she made me a good deal."

Ah. He'd met a member of the Marina Black Fanclub. _Ugh_. People were absolute idiots.

Still, he had just made her life easier and might even have handed her a way to decipher her bloody dream visions enough to stop Bellatrix.

Marina leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you."

David kissed her back, on the temple, before getting up and heading upstairs, presumably to check on Elias.

"I heard all that," Carmen said and Marina twisted to look at her. She'd come back into the room through the second door, behind the couch she was sitting on.

"He's mental," Marina told her friend. "Good deal or not, he must have spent 50 to 70 galleons at least."

"So? You think the camera Elias got me was any cheaper?"

"Then they're both nuts." But she knew exactly why Elias was spending so much money for Carmen. If he wasn't careful David might catch on, and somehow she doubted he'd be thrilled about his best friend having a crush on his baby sister.

"And we spent just as much," Carmen added pointedly, sitting down again.

Marina had bought David a Probity Probe, Carmen had gotten a Secrecy Sensor for Elias. Both were dark detectors of varying range and strength.

"They're aurors, they need them. And we still live at home."

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Marina," Carmen huffed, the exasperation she was sensing clearly sounding through. "You have a crush on my brother."

Her words hit Marina with the force of bludgers. She immediately looked to check if anyone had heard her brilliant, but cazy, friend. Thankfully, everyone was preoccupied.

"I do not," she refuted sternly.

"You look more exited about seeing him, when it's his turn to guard you, than you do about going on a date with Cederic."

Marina winced. She'd started seeing Cederic Diggory at the beginning of the year. The Hufflepuff student was a year ahead of her, Captain of his Quidditch team and a good person through and through. They always had fun on their dates – especially since he never even saw her constant shadows, thanks to their discretion. He really liked her too; her empathy had made that clear.

Unfortunately, she suspected Carmen was right. Marina always did look forward to David's shift. But that didn't mean she had a crush on him, right?

"You didn't like Jenna, either," Carmen continued, as if knowing she was mentally collecting evidence to the contrary.

" _You_ don't like Jenna," Marina countered.

Could what she'd felt in Hogsmeade have been jealousy? No, no way, she wasn't that petty.

The subject of their discussion walked back in, Elias in tow and they were both carrying their favorite hobbies: David his cello and Elias his violin. Music was pretty much the only thing that worked the same in the wizarding world as it did in the muggle world.

The two were setting up for a home concert and Marina couldn't help the sappy smile. It had been years since she'd heard them play.

"I rest my case," Carmen shook her head, motioning at Marina's face.

They settled back into the cushions and Carmen's heart sped up as Elias smiled at her.

And then her best friend was, as per usual, proven right. David winked at Marina as he settled into position and her own heart skipped a few beats. She'd _never_ noticed before. _Merlin help her._

Her realisation must've shown because Carmen took and squeezed her hand.

"It's not a big deal," the brunette whispered reassuringly. But it was.

How could she possibly expect that David saw her as anything but his sister's best friend whom he had grown up with?

And she knew from her mother that the worst that could happen was to be in love with someone who didn't love you back.

* * *

 _ **29**_ _ **th**_ _ **December 1993, Full Moon**_

" _Dear Ms Black,_

 _I have considered your inquiry at great deal and discussed it with Professor Sprout and the Headmaster._

 _We are in agreement that Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Ms Granger have the necessary magical reserve to complete the transition into animagi._

 _Professor Sprout has agreed to help them harvest the Mandrake leaves needed. The plants will have matured enough sometime in March._

 _Also, Ms Bones will be joining the extra lessons as well._

 _Madame Bones, Mr and Mrs Weasley, and Mr and Mrs Granger have already sent the signed permission to my office. I have attached Mr Potter's copy._

 _I will expect Mr Potter in my office, first day back at school around 5pm so we can discuss a lesson schedule._

 _Best wishes for the rest of your holidays._

 _Professor Minerva McGonagall_ "

And once again her Sight had proven right; Susan was the extra third-year she'd seen in her vision.

McGonagall had to suspect that she hadn't told her Dad anything yet, or her Head of House would have written to Harry directly. This way, if it backfired, Marina could take the blame.

So she took the letter and permission slip and went to her Dad's study. She couldn't very well let Harry go to The Burrow, not knowing if he was allowed to train or not. Not with Ron already having permission.

The study was really more of a library with a very small desk and a lot of room for her Dad to pace. He tended to do that when frustrated.

Right now he was reading _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ after the subject of Buckbeak and the hearing had come up again.

"Harry still upstairs?" he asked as she entered, not even looking up.

"Buried in Quidditch statistics and trying to pick a team," she confirmed. With the money the Ministry had given to Harry, damages for locking up his godfather and leaving him with the Dursleys, he could by himself season tickets for the next three years.

"You bought him a year's subscription of _Seeker Weekly_. What did you expect?"

"He loves Quidditch and he could never actually join the arguments in the dormitory. Now he can."

Not fitting in was no fun, she knew that. Now the best Seeker Hogwarts had ever seen could actually discuss Quidditch on a larger scale.

"So what's up?" her Dad asked after marking his page.

Marina walked over and handed him the pieces of paper without a word.

"When did you have time to set that up?" he wondered while reading the permission slip.

"I sent Hedwig Christmas Day – I figured Ron and Hermione would be all for it. I didn't think she'd actually answer so fast though."

Sirius Black, renowned Hit Wizard, looked at her very worriedly.

"Yes, I warned him he wouldn't get James' form. He's fine with it. We both explained the process. He really wants this."

"You'll keep an eye on him?"

"Always," she nodded. "And if he gets his wish and wings, Carmen agreed to teach him to fly."

Her Dad was the only one she'd told that her friend had mastered the skill too. Otherwise there would really be no point in not registering. If Harry thought he was surrounded by animagi now, she couldn't wait to see his face when he realised just how many it really were.

"Alright." The permission was signed without further preamble. Marina couldn't help but wonder which present was better: the _Firebolt_ or permission to become an animagus.

"Right. So now he and Ron can spend all night guessing what they'll turn into."

"Any ideas?" her Dad asked curiously.

Well... Last night she'd woken up after a Seeing dream and had, still so drowsy she could barely see, written down a poem. A grammatically challenged poem but still.

 _Across the sky black feathers sail,_

 _Seeking treasure without fail,_

 _Whilst feline grace and amber fur_

 _From the ground watch it occur._

 _On a tree branch, protective keeper,_

 _Nimbly climbing, always eager,_

 _With copper fur a sharing friend,_

 _Hidden well, a perfect blend._

Then again, Seeings never made sense so why should they in written form?

"Maybe," she answered her father. "But I don't want to say anything, in case I got this one wrong."

After another hour of letting Harry stay disappeared in his world of Quidditch and checking his Rune homework – flawless all over – they send him off to the Burrow.

Remus was still not thrilled that she was staying but she ignored his grumblings by now.

Elias had mixed him the Wolfsbane Potion, after her Dad had bought ingredients to last for several moons, and he'd dutifully taken it all week before dinner.

Marina followed her father down to the basement – and got another shock for life. He'd had someone cast an extremely powerful Undetectable Extension Charm and now their basement could pass as a wildlife preserve – minus the animals.

"Just how in Merlin's name did you manage to plant growing trees in here? There's no sun!"

It was like standing at the edge of a forest.

"Spelled lamps," her Dad ansered, grinning broadly. "I had a Preservation Charm cast too, so nothing will die out."

"Forest in a bottle," she mumbled, forgetting that he wouldn't understand the muggle reference.

Then Remus joined them down there and he already looked positively awful. He'd transform soon.

Marina looked at her Dad and they transformed simultaneously – she was almost as fast as him now. Once again, she had to rub her nose and the big, black goof let out a bark that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

She hissed – or tried to anyway. Lynx didn't hiss. No, the sounds they made sounded more like... a human woman starting to get hoarse from screeching in outrage. At low volume, it could pass as a pathetic meow, but anything louder...

Marina flinched when it came out; that was the one thing she didn't like about her animal form. She didn't sound that much like a banshee when she was human, for Merlin's sake.

The dog nuzzled her head with his and Remus grinned at the both of them.

For all his protest, he was glad not to be alone.

The grin vanished when the moon was at its apex and Remus succumbed to its effects. Watching it happen was horrible – but feeling it happen... She'd never told him that she could sense it, even all the way through the castle.

Once the pain subsided in both of them, he shook his furry head as if to clear it. When he looked up, it was Remus looking at them.

As one, the three of them started running and a very weird game of _Tag_ began. This was going to be fun.


	18. Before

**For all those who haven't heard a lynx before (I only have in a zoo), there you go:( watch?v=rbmObjwrB5U &feature= &t=1m)**

 **Chapter warning: a lot of fast-forward later on**

 **Chapter warning: mention of severe violence**

* * *

 _ **New Year's Day, 1994**_

Her muscles were still sore from running all of Wednesday night and she'd drunk too much champagne last night – though the latter was to be expected at New Year's Eve.

If you thought muggles did fireworks, wizards would put that to shame. 32 magic wielding crazy people and two muggles had gone all out this year; well only about 25 of them were crazy. And eleven of the party-goers were underage and therefore not actually wielding.

But the so called grown-ups? They'd had a blast having Fred and George's very own fireworks go off. Hell, even Amelia Bones – whom Jupiter had invited since Susan and she'd always been alone since the war – had let lose and lit a dozen fuses.

Harry and Hermione, who'd never seen magic fireworks, had been fascinated.

Ron and Susan, much like Ginny and Ty, had been mostly envious that they couldn't do it themselves.

The two eldest Weasley "kids" had come home for New Year's too, and after Molly had gotten her fill of her boys, they'd mingled.

Bill, the oldest, was tall, had blue eyes and the family trademark ginger hair – though his was long enough he kept it in a ponytail. He was also wearing an earring with what looked like a fang on it. The Curse Breaker had almost immediately sought out Bianca, his old classmate, and spent the time catching up with her – given his profession they had a lot in common since the goblins required him to master in Arithmancy.

Charlie, second oldest, was stockier with broad shoulders and tanned skin – presumably from his work. The man studied dragons in Romania after all. He shared his brother's hair and eye colour but had freckles. He'd immediately retreated into a corner with David and Elias after the fireworks.

Percy, overly serious as ever, had attempted to schmooze Amelia but Jupiter had put an end to that fast and rescued his colleague.

The twins and Dora had been having the time of their lives, it had seemed – her cousin loved to make herself the party trick by morphing a lot.

Benjamin had fit in rather nicely after all the peace-making that had apparently taken place the week before. She'd asked about Narcissa – he was currently the only one who could actually talk to her without alerting Lucius. According to Benjamin, poor Cissa was attempting to "re-educate" her brat of a son. _Good luck with that._

Remus and Dromeda had jokingly commiserated over the discrimination they'd always faced, and Ted had been absolutely delighted to explain the wizarding world in more detail to the Grangers.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Susan had spent the first half of the night being exicted about the animagus training, then they'd pulled Theo, Ginny and Ty into their circle and had started alternately complaining about Trelawney and Binns or praising Remus.

Carmen had kept running back and forth between her siblings and the twins while Marina had just watched.

Her father though had been the most interesting _to_ watch.

With permission from the hosts, Jupiter had invited one of the Obliviators working under him because she'd mentioned that she knew her father and Remus from school.

Marina had thought the name Hestia Jones rang a bell as soon as she'd heard it but couldn't place it. The witch had been in her parents' Hogwarts class, sorted into Hufflepuff. She sure didn't look thirty yet though. Hestia had raven black, long hair and brown eyes – from what Marina had been able to tell she was a very caring and outgoing person. Then her Dad had smiled at the woman almost gently and Marina had remembered: her mother had written about Hestia – her father's first love. And given what had happened next, probably his only love. She'd returned his feelings too, at least her mother had thought so, but her parents had disapproved of their daughter dating a Black. _Bloody morons._

So, last night had been a blast, both figuratively and literally.

It was only natural that her fruitcake of a cousin would chose today to make a mess.

Jupiter had been out of the tent (they'd converted it into sleeping baracks for them all so the kids could have one more day together) before the sun had been up, without a good-bye or word of explanation even to his wife.

Arthur had soon followed, hurrying out of the house still pulling his robes straight.

It hadn't been a terrible surprise that, after an owl everyone had actually seen, Amelia had disapparated after getting a sharp nod from Laura – presumambly an agreement to look after Susan.

The rest of them had sat there then, anxious despite the marvelous breakfast Molly had conjured. Hedwig, Iris, four family owls and several Post Office owls had then brought the _Daily Prophet_ – and the disturbing news.

" _ **Bellatrix Lestrange Strikes Again!**_

 _T_ _errible news now begin this new year. Escaped Death Eater at large, Bellatrix Lestrange, has made another of her infamous appearances. Early this night, around 3pm, the known sadist has sunk to new lows, even for her admittedly already non-existent standards._

 _With the help of her husband of twenty-three years, Rudolphus, and his brother Rabastan the devoted follower of You-Know-Who dragged an entire family of muggles out onto the open street. Given the New Year's celebration that also exists in the muggle word, that family consisted of two brothers and their wives and children._

 _Due to the wide open staging of the horrendous crime that followed, we know the very gruesome details: the Lestranges killed the younger brother, Timothy, and his wife, Doris, in front of the family before turning their wands on the elder spouses, Ethan and Vivian, and unleashing the Cruciatus on them – forcing the children to watch._

 _Witnesses report that Bellatrix' infamous laughter could be heard all the way down the street. When the muggles' minds broke due to the force behind the spells, the Death Eaters killed the children. One can only presume it was fear of recapture that spared those kids the torture._

 _And as if all that wasn't horrific enough, they slashed a lightning scar into the youngest boy's forehead._

 _For all of those who still don't get the significance: Bellatrix Lestrange staged this attack to be an imitation of the famous attacks on the Potters and Longbottoms – which effectively ended the Dark Lord's reign. Even more telling, the oldest girl's name was Marina – and the deranged witch carved the number 48 into her forehead._

 _Clearly, this was intended as a message to the fugitive's cousin, Marina Black, who'd ignored a previous message from the Death Eater, sent to her at Hogwarts._

 _Mere minutes after the muggle witnesses started to scream sorcery, the Heads of the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, Arthur Weasley, and the Accidental Magic Reversal Squads, Jupiter Nott, arrived on scene with their most powerful Obliviators in tow. The Department of Magical Law Enforcment soon followed._

 _Both wizards are friends with the Blacks but were unavailable for comment as to young Ms Black's whereabouts and how she was taking the news of this spectactle undoubtedly aimed at her._

 _We will keep you apprised of any developments._ "

Marina suddenly had a very hard time keeping her breakfast down. _That's how she was taking the news._ Those cockroaches had added a picture of the crime scene; Bellatrix and her cohorts might only have mutilated two of the kids, but there had been five. She put down her her copy of the paper with trembling hands.

Nine people dead because that lunatic had wanted to make a point.

Harry, sitting next to her, put a hand on her closed fist and squeezed.

She closed her eyes so the tears she felt rising wouldn't escape. Ignoring Bella so completely had not been her choice, but it had been the right one. And giving her that book wasn't even an option. But knowing the right choice had been made did not make this any easier.

Bella hadn't just stumbled over a girl with her name – she'd looked for one. And then she'd waited to stage her macabre version of an _I warned you_.

When Marina opened her eyes again, everyone was still looking at her with concern, a mixture of horror and outrage still firmly in place. Yes, she sensed that a lot when Bella was the subject.

Theo was absolutely terrified though and couldn't take his eyes off the picture, his father's hand on his shoulder who had a composed expression on his face but had similar feelings, if not quite as pronounced as his thirteen year-old.

"Marina-," Dromeda started but her father cut his cousin off with a raised hand and just looked at her.

He'd seen her melt down before when she'd shown him her memories of Harry's first and second year and how she'd found out about his imprisonment; which was how he knew she wasn't melting down right now – though chances were it would hit her later on.

"How did the _Prophet_ know to ask Jupiter and Arthur where I was?" she asked softly, even though she suspected the answer.

"Anyone in the Ministry can find you through the Trace," Hestia answered quietly.

"The what?" Harry wondered out loud.

"It's the spell that let's the Ministry know when someone underage uses magic," Susan told him, sounding like Amelia had made her learn it by heart.

"It automatically dissipates when you turn seventeen," Remus added, also watching her intently.

Marina huffed and met her Dad's eyes.

"Get me a Maturity Exception. I want it gone."

"Kitten-," he started in protest but she didn't let him.

"No, Dad. _Death Eaters_ work at the bloody Ministry. All she has to do is contact any one of them and she'll know where I am – which is fine when I'm at Hogwarts, otherwise not so much."

None of the others asked but confusion must have shown on their faces because Ted took it upon himself to explain.

"It's like emancipation of a minor in the muggle world – except for us it's much more. Aside from flat-out breaking the law, there are no more age restrictions once you have the Exception; especially when a parent signs it in agreement. In fact, the magic involved actually **'** ages **'** your magic so it will be registered as adult."

"Meaning I can use magic against her if she decides to ambush me at my duel – and no, I'm not cancelling. She doesn't get to scare me into hiding."

"I thought you already had permission to use magic outside school," Hermione said, surprised.

"At home to practice and during the duels themselves, yes. Anything else, no."

"Self-defence is still allowed," Laura argued.

"Like I want to take that risk with half the Wizengamot made of Death Eaters? All she needs is one opening to get me alone. I have the suspicion my Occlumency wouldn't cut it once Bellatrix got through with me – and she can't get her hands on..."

Marina didn't finish. There were entirely too many people, _kids_ , here who didn't know just what the maniac was after.

"It'll take a few months," Hestia cautioned her while everybody else was still watching the staring match between her and her father.

"I'm going back to school in a few days. As long as I have it on my birthday, I'll be fine." It wasn't possible to get the Exception before you were sixteen anyway.

But there was no way she was going to spend another year as a sitting puffskein with Bella and every one of her bastard friends able to track her wherever she went.

Marina got the distinct impression that Molly was forcefully biting her tongue to hold in all that outrage she could sense across the tent.

"Consider it done," her Dad finally announced and grinned his Marauder grin – proud that she wasn't going to descend into self-pity or just take this lying down, she assumed.

"Mum-" Carmen immediately spoke up.

"You'll have to ask your father," Laura sighed, probably well aware that Jupiter was going to agree. He'd actually first mentioned it to the girls.

Meanwhile, Marina's brother and his classmates looked decidedly frustrated that they were definitely much to young to insist on the same. _Thank Merlin._

* * *

 _ **January 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1994**_

It was the day before Harry and Marina would go back to school and she had _never_ been more grateful. As much as she loved being home with her Dad and Remus, everything else was driving her mad.

She couldn't leave the house without reporters trying to get a statement of how she felt about Bellatrix and what she'd done.

Owls were descending on her every minute of every day, half of them carrying Howlers from people who blamed her for the lunatic.

Finally, she'd just cracked and fled into the basement. Then she'd turned into her lynx form and jumped up a tree.

That's were she was still hiding out from the world, exploding with emotions she could barely name let alone contain. Thankfully, the basement was also soundproof so no one could hear her wailing. For the first time, her animal sounds didn't bother her because they adequately conveyed how she was feeling.

Furious beyond comprehension at Bellatrix, the dementors that let her escape, the reporters... the world.

Heartbroken over the muggles that had lost her lives for absolutely no reason.

Frustrated because she'd like to scream at the Ministry, for not catching Bella, and the idiots that blamed Marina for this.

Guilty, because she kind of blamed herself too – even though that didn't make any sense.

And helpless – because there was simply nothing she could do about any of it.

So she was hiding out as a feline, as if that would solve anything.

Starlight had taken up watch at the base of the tree she was hiding in. Marina had gotten her as a cub and now she was fully grown. She was only half kneazle so her ears weren't as big as her pure-breed relatives', but her tail was like a lion's. Her white fur was covered with black flecks.

Her cat hadn't moved a muscle since she'd turned and fled up the tree – even when she'd screamed her anger and grief.

But she moved now, realising that they had company a second before Marina did.

Her Dad walked in, a tray of ham sandwiches in his hand and concern making his insides coil. She must have been down here longer than she'd thought if he was bearing comfort food.

Sighing, which as a lynx sounded as if she was choking, Marina jumped down and turned back to human. Everybody had been impressed she could include her clothes in the transformation already – except McGonagall who'd mentioned her magical reserves were big enough for it.

She was barely sore this time around.

"They blamed Dromeda and me during the first war," her Dad told her when they'd sat down on the ground and dug into the sandwiches.

Marina sighed again – she'd suspected as much what with Dromeda's rather violently angry reaction. Dromeda didn't usually lose it.

"How did she get a wand, Dad?" she asked after a moment, voicing what she'd been wondering since the snake Patronus had dropped into the Great Hall. "They broke hers when she was sentenced."

"One of her friends, maybe," her Dad replied grimly. "Or she stole her mother's – the old house isn't warded."

"Part of me almost wants her to come after me," she admitted quietly. "At least then no one else would have to deal with her."

"I said something along those lines to Prongs in '81," mentioned dryly – given how that had backfired...

"The _Prophet_ mentioned the Longbottoms. Harry and the others are bound to ask what they meant and I really don't want to tell them," Marina admitted. "Never mind that Neville should have been the one to decide if and when to tell people.

And now that everyone knows I'm related to that maniac... For the first time I really just don't want to deal with any of it. I get why you turn into Padfoot a lot – becoming a lynx is the perfect getaway."

"I know you don't want to hear this-," her Dad said, "-but you're still young. You're allowed to get overwhelmed."

Marina debated for a minute if she should counter with what was going through her head – it would likely freak him out. But if she couldn't tell her Dad, who else could she tell?

"You know what Empathy means, Dad?" she asked rhetorically, because of course he didn't really. "I sense the emotions of every person around me every minute of every day. I can't shut it off. It started when I was ten and scared me half to death.

Dromeda and Ted took me to St. Mungo's to figure out what was going on and we walked by a room where a woman had just been told that her husband had died. She broke down crying and screaming – and so did I. Ten years old and I had to go through a grown woman's heartache who'd just lost the love of her life.

After the Healers figured out I was an empath, they tried to block it – but there is no block. Occlumency helps to a degree but even that can't stop it completely – and of course people would have to use Occlumency around me all the time so I won't feel anything.

When Bianca's first boyfriend dumped her, I ate more comfort ice-cream than she did.

When David told Laura he was going to become an auror, I experienced her knee-jerk fear as much as she did."

With every sentence her father got paler but he didn't stop her. She needed to get this out now and he seemed to know that.

"The older I got, the more I could control myself so I wouldn't break down crying or scream in anger around strangers anymore. Over emotions that weren't mine no less.

It took me years to learn how to separate the feelings I was sensing from everybody else from my own – the ones I was actually feeling myself.

Let me tell you, it makes for a weird mix. When Carmen is on the pitch, I'm anxious myself and can barely watch. But at the same time I can sense, and feel, her joy and how much fun she's having."

And that was one of the more harmless examples.

"So, to get to the point:-," she concluded before she'd succumb to the emotional turmoil rising in them both, "- I might only be fifteen in years but if you measure age by maturity? I'm at least thirty." Aside from the occasional tantrum she threw _because_ of the explosive emotional mix she was experiencing _**all the time**_.

Her father, apparently still processing, pulled her into a hug.

"What about Carmen?" her asked curiously. "Laura seemed sure Jupiter would agree."

Marina's first instinct was to brush him off. She'd never told anyone about Carmen's ability – even Jupiter and Laura didn't know. The girls had done research and found out that it had been Jupiter's great-great-great-grandfather who'd had it last and it had only been discovered after he'd died because he hadn't wanted anyone to know either.

But Carmen had given her permission to tell her Dad and Remus months ago, so...

"Carmen has innate abilities too," she explained quietly. "She got eidetic memory, like me, from Laura's side. And from Jupiter's... she's a Mimicry."

Confusion was what she sensed in response.

"It means she can copy any innate ability anyone has. If she touches Dora, she can use her metamorphmagic for 48 hours. Difference to me is, she can control it – she doesn't _have_ to use it."

"That's..." Her Das was astonished.

"Not even her family knows – we did the research at Hogwarts. I found a Black, by the way, who was an Empath, two centuries ago; so I guess we know where I got that from."

It wasn't often he was rendered completely speechless.

"She touched me with the Mimicing active once, our first year, and had to content with Empathy for two days. She barely left the dormitory."

"And her parents don't know?"

"You have met Laura, right?" she retorted. "She'd worry herself grey. I think Jupiter at least suspects though – he's the one who brought up the Maturity Exception to us in the first place."

"Any more surprises you'd like to spring on me?", her Dad asked, only mildly ironic.

She hesitated but...

"I asked her to touch Harry at the beginning of school this year. Let's just say I doubt he'll have any troubles with the advanced fire-charms and non-verbal magic." In fact, he'd probably be able to do it already given his innate talent for it.

" _Merlin_ ," her Dad moaned quietly. "Don't tell him."

"Wasn't planning to... yet. But he might need it someday soon, Dad. Book or no book, _He_ 'll try to come back and if he succeeds, he'll come after Harry."

"Not if I can help it," he growled deeply.

They stayed sitting there, hugging each other, for a few more minutes with Starlight on her lap, purring.

"Alright, let's go," her Dad said then. "If we don't change now we'll be late for the performance."

He'd gotten them tickets for the wizarding theatre for just the two of them – feeling guilty about how much time he'd spent alone with Harry.

Marina could certainly use a better end to the last few days than wallowing in self-pity.

* * *

 _ **Late January 1994**_

"Bloody hell!" Marina cursed under her breath when yet another Howler dropped in her lap during dinner. Everybody was almost used to it by now. Unfortunately the Silencing Charm didn't work on a Howler, neither did the Vanishing Spell.

She really didn't want to open it but, as everyone knew, Howlers were worse when you didn't. Part of her was tempted to try the Cutting Charm but something told her it wouldn't work either.

The bloody thing started smoking in her lap and she closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. When it exploded with its content, she couldn't hear the first part due to the buzzing volume. But then...

" _... DISGRACE TO THE NAME OF WIZARD. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF! IF YOU HAD ANY DECENCY AT ALL YOU WOULD DROWN YOURSELF IN THE BLACK LAKE AT THE VERY LEAST..._ "

Oh well. It was one of the more harmless ones then. A previous letter had demanded she let herself be drawn and quartered to atone for Bellatrix' sins.

" _... HOW DARE YOU FACE THAT POOR LONGBOTTOM BOY AFTER WHAT YOUR FAMILY HAS DONE TO HIS PARENTS..._ "

Now that was a wrinkle. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Neville yet, because when she wasn't busy studying, she was practicing the Patronus with Harry.

" _... SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU BEEING TORTURED TO DEATH !_ "

The Howler went up in flames, message delivered.

Silence had descended on the Great Hall as just about everyone was staring at her.

Marina felt her cheeks reddening in embarassment. She figured she was toast now. Remus had, so far, not written to her Dad about the part that she was, technically, being threatened with those damn Howlers. But she had the feeling that he'd had enough, given his expression.

There was motion behind her and the Gryffindor Quidditch team rose as one, building a defensive wall around her. It would be touching if it wasn't so depressing.

Marina turned around and saw that it was, to her surprise, Theo and _Draco Malfoy_ approaching her. This could get really ugly fast.

She stood up and pushed through the twins, standing in front of her would-be guards.

"From Dad," Theo said and gave her a letter – why Ben wouldn't just address it to her was beyond her. The black haired boy squeezed her hand comfortingly once before taking a step back. He still had an image as a Slytherin to maintain. If only his house-mates knew that he was meeting Harry and Ron on a regular basis to discuss Quidditch or play Exploding Snap.

Then Draco stepped forward and Marina was surprised – if she didn't know better she'd say she was sensing something suspiciously like sympathy from him.

"My mother asked me to give you this," he announced arrogantly as ever and handed her another letter. The handwriting _was_ Narcissa's. He then lowered his voice so only the few students closest would be able to her.

"My father doesn't know," he added and then turned on his heels and stalked away with Theo.

"Looks like Narciss might be succeeding," Carmen commented quietly.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't go count your owls yet."

* * *

 _ **Later that evening...**_

Narcissa and Benjamin had assured her that both of them would keep their eyes and ears open for Bellatrix. They'd adressed the letters to their sons so that Theo and Draco would be seen publically supporting her. It was quite a statement and that Draco had gone along with it was telling.

"Harry will be joining us in half an hour," Remus told her when he'd set up the damn classroom for their Patronus training. It had been a stroke of **'** luck **'** that a boggart turned into a dementor for Harry. The effects the creature had were still very real – she would know, as it also turned into a dementor for her.

But she suspected she was afraid of them for different reasons. She feared the memories they invoked. She'd believed she'd remembered everything but her visit to Azkaban had proven her wrong. Marina didn't want to remember – to _relive_ – more.

She suspected Harry just didn't want to be afraid, period.

"Don't tell Dad about the Howlers," she asked Remus when she'd dropped her bag in a corner.

"He needs to know."

"Why? It's not like they can actually act on it. Besides, what's the Ministry going to do? Give them a fine?" Writing threatening letters, while disgusting, was not against the law.

"They are threatening his daughter – do you really think he won't find out anyway?"

Marina hated it when he used logic against her.

"Alright, I give," she caved and threw up her hands in surrender. "But don't blame me when he goes and does something stupid."

Her skin was itching with the urge to turn and hide. Disccovering her animagus form's uses as an escape had not necessarily been a good thing. Now she was tempted far too often to use it.

"More importantly, tell _me_ why I just can't seem to get this spell right," she grumbled and glared at the trunk with the boggart in it.

"Your memories must not be happy enough," Remus suggested with a frown.

"Remus, I'll tell you what I told Dad: my happy feelings are _always_ mixed with other people's emotions. I'm never just happy."

"Then, unless you can figure out how to focus on happy feelings only, you might never be able to cast a fully formed Patronus."

Before she could comment how she felt about _that_ , Harry came sprinting in.

"Sorry I'm late," he mumbled, out of breath. "Professor McGonagall just gave me extra homework."

Harry, she and her Dad had agreed not to tell Remus about Harry's animagus training just yet. He was still getting used to the thought of her turning furry.

"I'll look over it with you later," she promised.

She'd checked on the Mandrakes yesterday and, of course, Sprout had been right. Marina estimated that the plants would be ready to be plucked in early March.

For now though, she focused on another hour of not getting the spell right...

* * *

 _ **February 6**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

Marina was tired. No, actually that was an understatement. Magical Exhaustion had never hit her like this before, but then she'd just dueled for 47 minutes and 52 seconds. It was a record in the Junior League – normally, teenagers didn't have that much stamina.

The record in the Duelling League in general was 93 minutes 28 seconds.

Like she'd seen coming (not magically, this time) half the audience had been her friends and family. And like David had predicted, she'd won. It was by far the longest duel she'd ever had and she felt like she could fall asleep standing up.

Then again, this was sports-duelling. A duel to the death would wipe her out more, she figured. The most famous one had been Dumbledore versus Grindelwald and had taken over three hours.

Her next duel, Quarterfinals, was on April 9th and her entourage was already planning how they'd all get there.

But even her, well earned if she said so herself, victory couldn't ease her worries. Since New Year's she felt like she had a lump of cement in her gut that just wouldn't go away.

Marina, _a bloody_ _ **Gryffindor**_ , was almost afraid of reading the Prophet in the mornings because she was scared of what Bellatrix might have done overnight.

But apparently the increased auror presence all over Britain had forced her and her cohorts into laying low, at least for the time being.

Right now though, she forced herself to relax.

Remus had gone to the Headmaster, upon everyone's return to the castle, and Dumbledore had given his permission to Moony's surprise for her: they were throwing her a party in the Great Hall.

All of Gryffindor, half of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and even the odd Slytherin – Theo and Draco – were in attendence and celebrating the only Hogwarts student in the running this year.

Marina swallowed the comment that it might have something to do with Duelling not being offered at the school.

But she couldn't resist the overall mood and soaked in everyone's happiness and fun. It was by far the best she'd felt since New Year's.

* * *

 _ **March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

The Gryffindor Tower was one hell of a party that evening – and Marina couldn't blame them one bit, even though she fled after two hours to get her Potions homework done.

Harry had gone and done what he did best: he'd caught the Snitch before the Ravenclaw Seeker and had thus ensured that Gryffindor still had a chance to win the Cup.

Carmen had been understandibly disappointed but given that Ravenclaw had lost to Slytherin in their last match, the Cup had already been out of reach.

But there had been a reason why just about all students of both Houses had had the time of their lives on the pitch today: Harry's Patronus.

Some idiot Slytherins had dressed up to look like Dementors from afar, in an effort to scare Harry. But her brother hadn't even hesitated, had pulled his wand and cast the spell. Something very big with four legs had burst out of his wand and scared the hell out of Flint and his cohorts.

Most of Hogwarts had burst out laughing at the picture they'd made. Remus had almost burst with pride – and Marina had blinked against her tears, because she'd seen what form his Patronus had taken. It seemed like Harry always took James with him onto the pitch.

* * *

 _ **April 9**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

Well, here it was: Marina's second duel. She was a lot more nervous this time. Her opponent, Lizzy Price, had beaten her at every training duel up until now.

Hermione had noticed and, undoubtedly in an effort to cheer her up or something, had provided a list of Junior League Winners she'd dug up somewhere:

 **1950:** Minerva McGonagall

 **1961** : Alastor Moody

 **1962:** Alastor Moody

 **1964:** Benjamin Nott

 **1965:** Jupiter Nott

 **1966:** Andromeda Black

 **1967:** Andromeda Black

 **1968:** Bellatrix Black

 **1969:** Bellatrix Black

 **1970:** Narcissa Black

 **1971:** Narcissa Black

 **1972:** Gabriel Yaxley

 **1973:** Kingsley Shacklebolt

 **1974:** John Dawlish

 **1975:** Phineas Savage

 **1976:** Phineas Savage

 **1977:** Lisa Dearborn

 **1978:** Vivian McKinnon

 **1979 – 1982:** cancelled

 **1983:** Augustus Gore

 **1984:** Simon Lawrence

 **1985:** Peter Simmons

 **1986:** Paul Simmons

 **1987:** William Weasley

 **1988:** Elias Whitmore

 **1989:** David Nott

 **1990:** Benjamin Gibbons

 **1991:** Jasmine Fraiser

 **1992:** Jasmine Fraiser

 **1993:** Jasmine Fraiser

Whatever the girl's intention, cheer her up it did not. Marina had known that Dromeda had won it twice, of course. The trophies were standing in the house afterall; and that's how she'd started duelling at all.

And it didn't surprise her that Mad-Eye was on the list – she knew he'd won the Senior League Cup three times in a row after all.

But she hadn't counted on knowing almost all the winners before her.

No pressure at all.

She entered the arena – it was more of a stage, really – and faced her opponent. Lizzy's duelling robes were, as always, magenta. Muts have been her favourite colour or something. Marina's own were green **'** because it brought out her eyes **'**. That's the reasoning you got when you let your fashion-crazy aunt buy your robes.

Lizzy and she bowed to each other with presented wands, then walked to opposite ends of the stage and took their positions.

And then it began.

Duelling must have looked totally insane to a spectator. Lizzy got in the first spell but Marina blocked it with a simple Shield Charm before retaliating with a jinx. It only grazed Lizzy's arm so it didn't take for more than a few seconds – a few seconds that were enough for Marina to throw another jinx at her. Liz blocked it and countered with a lower level hex.

And on it went. At some point Marina was barely aware of what she was casting and reacted on instinct only. Yet she could still sense her friends' excitement from the other side of the room. It gave her a crazy idea – which was bound to fail. But she could feel herself, and Liz, getting tired.

So Marina focused on Harry's giddiness, it was the strongest by far, and cast the Patronus.

To her, and everyone else's astonishment, it was corporeal. A translucent, silver Irish Wolfhound that looked remarkably like her father's animagus form came running out of her wand and barked.

Liz was totally gobsmacked and let herself be distracted by the dog and Marina used the split second the other girl didn't pay attention and disarmed her.

A bell from the judge's wand sounded the end of the duel at 31 minutes and 10 seconds.

She'd won, but right now she was more proud of her Patronus which had circled back to her and was sitting at her feet expectantly, before she let it dissipate.

Marina looked up to find her entourage on their feet, applauding like crazy and grinning up at her. Lizzy and she bowed again and her strongest opponent yet gratulated her.

Not even the sighting of Bellatrix this morning could ruin her day.

* * *

 _ **April 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

"You don't have to come," Marina told Harry and the other animagi in the making. She was about to floo home and from there to the arena. It was her Semifinals duel today but she couldn't have been less concerned.

She'd beaten her opponent in every sparring duel and he didn't have as many tricks up his sleeve as she did. Granted, Marina had a bit of an advantage with Mad-Eye as tutor but the others had hired tutors as well. It wasn't her fault Chris hadn't.

Anyway, the kids had collected the Mandrake last month and started their potions. Over the past weeks they'd added all the other ingredients they needed. But they needed to add their hair today and stir it thirteen times every hour or it would all have been for nothing – the damn potion was on a strict schedule too.

Harry was massively disappointed and feeling guilty too.

"You come to all my matches," he pointed out.

"Because they're at Hogwarts. Tell you what:-," she said, "-If I win this today and make it to the Finale you can watch that one, okay? It's on May 7th so nothing gets in the way because you can only finish it at the next full moon, which is on the 25th."

* * *

 _ **May 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

She'd spoken too soon. Maybe Harry shouldn't really be here, given that her opponent today was Jasmine Fraiser – the reigning champion for the last three years. The girl had started winning the cup when she'd been thirteen, for Merlin's sake.

This was the last time Jasmine _could_ win the Junior League Cup because she was sixteen. Next year she'd have to try for the League Cup.

Marina should have known it would come down to this. After Hermione had gotten her that list of Cup Winners, she'd done her homework. There wasn't a single duel Jasmine had lost in the last three and a half years – sometimes against people two years older.

Add to that the fact that Bellatrix had tried to break into Black House three times, injuring the aurors stationed there in the process, and Marina was nervous today. Very nervous.

Bella wouldn't risk exposure like that unless she was getting antsy – or her Master was.

Neither an anxious Bellatrix nor an anxious Voldemort was a calming thought.

Everyone in her Fan Club, as the tournament commentators had named her entourage, had brought their dark detectors today and her father had organised an emergency portkey for Harry and his friends – that's how nervous Bella's antics had made them all.

"Concentrate on the duel," David told her as she, again, checked the audience nervously. "We've got the rest covered."

"It's amazing you managed to say that with a straight face," she huffed and looked at him. "How am I supposed to focus on the duel when Bella is getting desperate enough to openly attack aurors? If she dares to do that, how much of a leap is crashing the Junior League Finale?"

"If she is that crazy, she'll find herself facing a whole bunch of aurors she didn't count on. Breathe," he added and grabbed her by the arms to stop her fidgeting.

Marina obliged and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. David was right of course. There was a possibility Bellatrix was mad enough to show, but half the auror department was here tonight. Even if she brought her husband and brother-in-law, they didn't stand a chance.

David didn't sense the least bit worried – which was saying something given his understandable fear of her cousin.

"It's ironic," she said once she'd calmed herself. "Harry has been feeling like this for the last two years – but feeling it myself is different." Because controlling her own emotions was a whole lot harder.

"Go win the Cup so you can pretend to be surprised at the party they've organised," David teased and rubbed her arms lightly.

"I might have been if they hadn't been doing it after every duel," she smiled. "Just stay close to the kids, please."

David was among the very few people who did not point out that, legally speaking, she was still a kid too. Just another reason why she... no, not going there.

"You got this," David smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

Marina watched him walk away and forced herself to get a choke-hold on her emotions. If Carmen had seen that she'd get all overbearing again.

When the sign came, she walked on stage and faced Jasmine. It wasn't that they didn't get along out of the arena – but if there was one thing that the other witch hated, it was losing. So she never did.

At first it was just like any other duel – shields and jinxes thrown up and at each other.

Marina actually liked that phase, because it showed you just how much power your opponent had, even if they held back at first.

Jasmine Fraiser had _**a lot**_ of power.

The first jinx Marina hadn't been able to duck had hit her shield full force and it had made her stagger – only Mad-Eye had ever managed that before; holding back of course.

After what felt like days, but had probably been about ten to fifteen minutes, Marina realised she had a problem. Jasmine was working with a lot more power than her.

Consequently, she did what she hadn't done since she'd been ten: she let lose.

The grip she constantly had on her Empathy also kept her magic in check – which wasn't necessarily a bad thing for a student. But she needed all that magic she kept caged if she wanted to win this.

The windows rattled under her power when she shot her next hex (all lower level and non-harmful in the long run) and Jasmine ducked it with a shocked expression.

The girl responded with a hex while still lying on the floor, and Marina whirled out of the way in a move Dromeda had shown her – it looked like dancing.

While she was still twirling, she shot a Tickling Jinx that actually found its target.

Jasmine had more self-control than Marina had given her credit for however and choked out a counter-jinx through her laughter. While Marina was busy deflecting it, Jasmine used a reversal spell on herself.

But then Jasmine made a mistake (not that she could possibly have known it): she used a Freezing Charm.

After Quirrell and the basilisk, Marina had told Mad-Eye that the Glacio had saved her and Harry, and the grouch had then proceeded to teach her more ice- and snow- based charms.

Once again grateful for the mentor (she still didn't get why he helped her) that was so infamously paranoid, Marina cast a counter-charm that took control of Jasmine's own ice and sent it back to her twice as strong.

Not having seen that coming, the girl couldn't move out of the way fast enough – and was covered in ice within seconds.

Marina disarmed her and it was over.

While the audience exploded into applause, Marina walked to her opponent and started thawing the ice, even as two mediwitches were on the way to them.

"N-N-Not ….b-b-bad,... B-Black," Jasmine said through chattering teeth. "C-Cong-gratul-lations."

And that proved that she had just won the Junior League Duelling Cup more than anything.

Before she had a chance to reply, she was grabbed from behind and found herself crushed in a group hug.

Harry, Remus and her Dad had all picked a side and were hugging her, pride suffusing every single pore. Ted, Dromeda and Dora soon joined and took over.

Once her family was done, the Notts were next – David even going as far as spinning her in circles, laughing. She allowed herself to hold on, beaming, and enjoy the moment. (So sue her, she was human.)

Hermione and Susan hugged her too, then stood aside, grinning.

Next came a whole slew of Weasleys – even Bill and Charlie had portkeyed in for the finale.

Once everyone else was through, the twins hoisted her up on their shoulders and everyone started applauding again. Marina even saw Angelina, Katie and Alicia in the crowd.

Then Jasmine, disappointed though she was, proved to be a sporting loser and personally handed Marina the Cup, where her name was magically being engraved as she watched.

It was definitely the best day ever.

* * *

 _ **May 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

If anyone ever told her again that Quidditch wasn't dangerous, Marina would hex them.

She'd seen even Remus and her father wince when Flint had crashed into Angelina – and they'd supported James when he'd played Chaser all those years ago.

Fred's retaliation had been stupid but she was mentally cheering him on – Flint deserved everything he got.

Things only got worse from there and Marina was in full agreement with Jordon as he spouted insults through the magiphone – whether McGonagall liked it or not.

This had to be the dirtiest match ever played at Hogwarts, she mused, kind of surprised Oliver was still on his broom after both Bludgers had hit him like that.

Marina deliberately put herself in the way of jinxes and hexes – but this was just insane.

Harry, luckily, kept out of it and focused on finding the Snitch.

But when he spotted the golden ball, Malfoy (cheating little _bastard_ , cousin or not) physically grabbed Harry's _Firebolt_ and held him back.

Three quarters of the audience – even McGonagall – was outraged and screaming insults at Malfoy. Marina was surprised Harry didn't kick him in the face.

Hagrid, standing behind her, Hermione and Ron, was equally unamused and rumbling angrily into his beard.

She heard Hermione gasp and looked back up, only to see Harry flatten himself to his broom and shoot into the entire Slytherin team – all six of them had been about to block Angelina. She scored.

But Marina saw, at the same time as Ron going by his groaned **'** _No!_ **'** , that Draco had spotted the Snitch.

Someone – Wood, given his hectic gestures – alterted Harry and he wrenched his broomstick around, shooting all the way across the field. Draco was almost close enough to catch it, but his _Nimbus 2001_ was out of its league against the _Firebolt_.

Harry closed in, physically shoved Draco out of the way – they could see it all the way from the ground – and CAUGHT THE SNITCH!

All three Houses around her screamed, screeched and celebrated Gryffindor's victory; even Hermione was so happy she hugged Marina, while she was dizzy from emotional overload.

Then Hermione, Ron and Marina herself tore across the field where Harry had landed with the team literally on top of him. Oliver was in tears with happiness.

It was once again the twins who lifted their hero up on their shoulders, from where he grinned down at his best friends and family – as Remus and her Dad had joined them.

When Oliver handed a grinning Harry the Quidditch Cup, he all but exploded with happiness – making this, as far as she knew, the best day of his life.

* * *

 _ **May 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

McGonagall had called her to the Transfiguration classroom for this. It was the full moon and today was the day: Harry, Ron, Hermion and Susan would take their potions after letting them get hit by moonlight and then meditate until the transformation started – and that could take hours.

While she watched the kids place the cauldrons in moonlight, Marina remebered the stupid poem she'd _Seen_ months ago:

 _Across the sky black feathers sail,_

 _Seeking treasure without fail,_

 _Whilst feline grace and amber fur_

 _From the ground watch it occur._

 _On a tree branch, protective Keeper_

 _Nimbly climbing, always eager,_

 _With copper fur a sharing friend,_

 _Hidden well, a perfect blend._

They were about to find out if she'd seen right.

Once McGonagall gave the kids the sign, they poured some of their potions into vials. Then they clinked said vials in a mental _Cheers_ and drank.

Marina and the Professor vanished the rest of the potions so no one else could drink from them – that would be disaster right there.

While the kids sat down to meditate, McGonagall and she walked away a bit and her teacher quizzed her on Transfiguration Theory – the woman definitely wanted her to ace her O.W.L.

Only an hour later, the first of the kids turned: Ron.

He gave a startled huff and Marina barely turned her head in time to see it start. The boy shrunk down immensely until he was only 24 inches long and grew red-brown fur on his back while the front was white. His new animal instincts kicked in as soon as he was on his four, short limbs and he shot up the tree next to him.

 _On a tree branch, protective Keeper_

 _Nimbly climbing, always eager._

He'd turned into a **stoat** – one of the fastest climbers.

A few minutes later, Susan and Hermione turned simultaneously.

Susan was done faster, which was fortune given the girls' animagus forms.

The redhead shrunk down until she was all of nine inches tall with a bushy tail of six inches. Her fur, much like Ron's, was red-brown on her back and white on her belly. Her limbs were tiny. She developed very large ears – in comparison to her body.

 _With copper fur a sharing friend,_

 _Hidden well, a perfect blend._

Susan the **red squirrel** shot up the same tree as Ron, only a bit higher – and once she'd found a place to hide in, you couldn't see her anymore.

Hermione's transformation looked familiar. She sprouted amber brown coloured fur, almost the same shade as her hair, and her limbs shrunk; she crouched even as her claws extended. When it was over, she was about 29 inches long, tail and all, and 9 inches tall.

 _Whilst feline grace and amber fur_

 _From the ground watch it occur._

"A British Shorthair," McGonagall said quietly, obviously better acquainted with **cat** breeds than Marina. Hermione hissed.

And than Harry gasped, as his transformation kicked in too.

It was probably a good thing he was sitting, Marina mused. She'd predicted the others right so...

Harry shrunk until he was about 26 inches long and his face distorted, until both his jaws and nose had formed into a pointy beak. Instead of fur, he sprouted black feathers. When all that was done, he stood on two tiny legs – and instinctively spread his wings for balance; his wingspan was about 47 inches.

 _Across the sky black feathers sail,_

 _Seeking treasure without fail._

Well, her brother had gotten his wish: he was a **raven**.

"Nice to know I _see_ the fun stuff right, too," Marina muttered and McGonagall and she raised their wands in unison, turning Hermione and Harry back. They couldn't very well risk him trying to fly before he knew how. Then they magicked the stoat and the squirrel down from the tree and turned Ron and Susan back as well.

"Welcome to animagus training," Marina told them, a little gleeful. "The next few months you are going to learn how to navigate as animals – preferably away from each other at first. Harry and Hermione are both predators big enough to make lunch out of Ron and Susan."

"We wouldn't-"

"Yes, you would," McGonagall interrupted sharply. "The first half a dozen transformations your animal instincts rule."

"So: no turning without supervision," Marina ordered sternly and the kids nodded, properly cowed.

"Alright then, let's get back inside and get some sleep. We all have tests in two weeks."

* * *

 _ **June 1994**_

Marina was cranky, there was no other way to put it. Next week, everyone was having their end-of-year exams.

Only, of course, that wasn't completely accurate: Percy and his year were having their N.E.W.T.s and Marina and her year their O.W.L.s.

Needless to say, Percy was coming out of his skin and kids that breathed too loudly for his sensibilities would get detention.

Trisha, Carmen's best friend in Ravenclaw, had fainted yesterday because of the pressure she was putting herself under. To Marina's astonishment, Angelina wasn't doing much better.

You could even see the twins studying, which said it all, really.

To add insult to injury, Bellatrix had been spotted in company of someone the Ministry _**hadn't**_ reported as an escapee – most likely because they'd be hard-pressed to explain how it was possible given that Barty Crouch Jr was supposed be dead an buried in Azkaban.

Of course, they still hadn't released just how the _bloody hell_ they'd escaped in the first place.

Marina hadn't been convinced that it was true, papers got stuff wrong, but since half the people she knew worked for the Ministry...

Crouch Jr was out and colluding with old friends again, while his father was facing a hard time at work. Perhaps she'd feel worse about that if he hadn't been the bastard that had locked her father up.

That didn't mean, of course, that she wanted Junior on the lose – his future victims didn't deserve any of it.

And as if her mood wasn't awful enough already, now, at breakfast, they had received their testing schedule:

Monday → Care of Magical Creatures

Tuesday → Herbology

Wednesday → Transfiguration

Thursday → Charms

Friday → Defence Against the Dark Arts

Monday → Potions

Tuesday → Astronomy

Wednesday → Divination

Wednesday → Arithmancy

Thursday → Muggle Studies

Thursday → Ancient Runes

Friday → History of Magic

All the theoretical exams took two hours, the practical one and a half. McGonagall had issued her and Carmen one Time-Turner so they could do Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes both, as Dumbledore had agreed to – even though they'd only taken one class.

The magical device of course also explained how Hermione had been able to take and attend every class available.

"Tell me again why I'm doing this," Marina muttered, pushing a hand through her hair.

"Ministry of Magic, required O. for the Auror Office," Harry reiterated and handed her another plate with pancakes and bacon. "You have photographic memory – you'll be fine."

"I think there is a limit," she said half-hyterically. "Or at least my brain feels about ready to explode. Plus, it's practical I'm worried about."

"When was the last time you slept all night?" he asked her way too knowingly for a thirteen year-old who generally didn't freak out about tests.

"All night? After you won the Quidditch Cup."

"That's crazy," he offered logically. "You need to sleep or you'll accidentally conjure an elephant."

"Just wait until it's your turn," Angelina cut in wisely from across the table. "You won't sleep either." The Chaser looked like hell too.

Merlin help her, Marina couldn't wait for the O.W.L.s to be over...


	19. The Hailstorm (I)

_**Two weeks later...**_

 **4pm**

Marina was lying outside in the shade, for the first time in weeks without a book or her wand in hand. Today had been the last day of the tests, History of Magic officially over with, and she'd returned the Time-Turner to McGonagall half an hour ago.

Carmen was lying next to her and had dozed off.

She was infinitely gratful that she wouldn't have to go through that again – she was so dropping a few courses next year... … all of two (if she didn't fail anything).

And she called Percy an overachiever.

Marina had been finished with her last test in time to watch Harry go though his D.A.D.A. exam. Remus had outdone himself with that creature-obstacle course. And Harry had certainly outdone himself, all but skipping through as if he couldn't even see the creepy beasts trying to kill him.

Then most the kids had gone up for their last exams (Divination for Ron and Muggle Studies for Hermione) while Harry had gone to lend moral support to Ron and Neville – he'd once again seemed grateful that he'd switched to Runes.

He'd tried to talk Marina into giving him an animagus lesson, but she'd refused. If he managed to fly away she couldn't exactly follow – and if he got stuck somewhere, then what?

But she'd told him that she'd already arranged for him and Carmen to have regular lessons during the summer; just like Marina herself would be visiting Hermione for the same – Richard and Katherine, her parents, had been … disconcerted, to say the least, to hear about their daughter turning feline.

As for Ron and Susan, Professor McGonagall had arranged for _someone_ to tutor them during the summer, as it could be none of the animagi they knew; they were all predators, or plain too big in her Dad's case, and would scare the newbies into running.

Marina was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't even notice she was speaking at first.

" _It will happen tonight... The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless no more, his followers have returned to him. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight before midnight the servant will set out to rejoin his master._ "

Carmen, now wide awake, was staring at her with wide open eyes, gaping. A chill ran down her spine.

As per usual with a bigger Seeing, she didn't remember it, but her stomach was churning.

Marina pulled out her Scrying Mirror and channeled what was left of the psychic energy into it, hoping it was enough to let her rewatch what she'd said. Thankfully, it worked.

Watching herself go all empty-headed and mumble a prophecy was creepy, to put it mildly. But her words themselves were worse.

"Go tell Remus," Marina said quietly, so very grateful that Remus had given her the Marauder's Map after taking it from Harry – he hadn't had much choice what with Snape having caught him.

"What about you?" Carmen asked, fear rising in spite of having no clue what the prophecy actually meant.

"I'm getting my brother – and all of our friends I can round up – and taking them to the Common Room. They'll be safe there."

"You don't really think..."

"I don't know," Marina shook her head. "But Bella has been laying low for far too long – it's not like her. Now that she's with Crouch Jr … I've ignored my instincts the last two years and look where that ended. Better save than sorry."

"Who's the servant?" Carmen asked as they ran towards the castle, their sanguin mood forgotten.

"No clue. There are far too many Death Eaters to be sure... bloody hell," Marina added cursing, some of the vague dreams she'd been having over the year suddenly making sense. She stopped in her tracks.

"What?"

"Don't just tell Remus – _get_ Remus. And McGonagall while you're at it. I can't take them to the Common Room... so Great Hall, I guess..."

She was rambling like a lunatic, and dimly aware of it too, but cold dread had turned her veins to ice. If she was right about this...

"Marina, what-?"

" _ **Accio**_ _Marauder's Map_!" Marina said loudly and pointed her wand in the general direction of the Gryffindor tower. She needed to be sure.

She needed... to get a grip already.

"Get Remus and hope Dumbledore is nearby somewhere," she told her very freaked out best friend calmly. "If I'm right we'll probably need him to restrain Remus."

Especially given that his temper was bound to be atrocious due to the full moon tonight. The timing was lousy. But she _needed_ a Marauder to be sure – and she couldn't exactly magically produce her father in the next half hour.

A strange buzzing sounded behind her and she turned just in time to catch the map.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," she gave the password and opened the parchment.

Remus was pacing his office, agitated already for some reason. Carmen took note.

Harry was still sitting outside the Divination classroom, waiting for Ron and Neville.

Hermione was sitting in Muggle Studies.

Dumbledore was just returning to the castle with Hagrid – which was a relief all in its own, because if the Ministry had just executed Buckbeak, their Gamekeeper would more likely be drowning in whisky instead of joining everyone for dinner in... an hour.

Crookshanks and Starlight were out on the grounds running, presumably chasing mice. Hedwig and Iris were up in the Owlery.

And then Marina found it – the first piece of evidence that she was, unfortunately, right.

She showed Carmen and her friend paled dangerously.

Because unless there was something seriously wrong with the Map, Bellatrix was in the Forbidden Forest, waiting for something.

* * *

 **5pm**

Marina had never been so grateful for the aurors' presence as right now.

After she'd explained her theory to Carmen, her friend had run off to alert every teacher and auror she could find – well, except Snape maybe.

Ron's pet rat Scabbers was missing a front toe. And according to the twins, Percy had found the animal – about twelve years ago. Garden rats didn't live that long. Also, for some reason, Scabbers was appearing and disappearing on the Map, as if the artefact wasn't entirely sure the rat was actually there.

How could she have been so impossibly thick?

Her Dad had, as far as she knew, never laid eyes on Scabbers, and neither had Remus given the rat had been conveniently missing most of the year. This one was all on her.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid_ , she berated herself as she was running up the Divination tower.

She'd had that traitorous bastard underneath her nose for _**five years**_ and hadn't noticed. At the very least she should have figured it out this year, after she'd seen her Dad's memories.

 _Dear Merlin_ , how many times had she discussed security measures at Grimmauld Place with Carmen while that miserable coward had been in the room? And how much had he managed to tell Bella? Why else would she have attempted to break in? She was well aware of her aunt's wards afterall.

* * *

 **5:20pm**

Marina reached the top just in time for Ron to be done.

Harry took one look at her face, heavily breathing as she was, and was up with his hand on his wand. She had a death-grip on hers.

She'd given Carmen the Map so she could show Remus, but she handed her Scyring Mirror to her brother and turned, knowing they'd follow.

Hearing the prophecy again, while hurrying down those blasted stairs, did not lessen the impact any.

Hermione and Susan Bones had joined them halfway down, after finishing with Muggle Studies, and a very grim looking Harry had proceeded to show them.

Susan had gasped in shock and when Marina had looked over her shoulder, Ron had slung an arm around the fellow redhead so she wouldn't take a tumble.

Hermione, while awfully disbelieving of Divination, obviously had more faith when it was coming from Marina and had frozen too – accepting it without a fuss when Harry took her hand to pull her along.

"So we're going to the Headmaster?" he finally asked when they'd descended the stairs.

"No, Carmen's rallying the teachers and all the aurors she can find. You're all going to dinner as if nothing's wrong: it'll be easier to defend you when all the kids are in one place."

"What?"

Marina wasn't sure if it was such a smart idea to tell them but, on the other hand, they needed to know.

"Bellatrix is in the Forbidden Forest," she told them grimly. "Remus has been checking the Map daily to make sure you didn't sneak around in the middle of the night again. He would have seen it if she'd been here before."

"Which means she wasn't," Hermione nodded, rallying despite the fear Marina sensed.

"I have a suspicion why she's here now but I have to prove it – which is why it's your job to find Neville," she told them seriously and stopped to look at them. "I don't care if you have to knock him out and levitate him into the Great Hall. You make sure he gets in there and _stays_ there. Bella would happily do to him what she did to his parents, just for kicks."

Neville had told his friends what had happened to Frank and Alice after that New Year's article in the _Prophet_. Everybody had been so appalled they'd even tried to hex Marina and Draco – the only relatives of Bella they could get their hands on.

"He'll want to help once he finds out," Harry warned her as they hurried along.

"If he wants to help, tell him _**not**_ to get seen by Bellatrix."

* * *

 **5:41pm**

"Why is my sister running around as if she's lost her head?"

Marina almost slumped in relief. The kids had taken off running after she'd been done ordering them around – she must really have freaked them out.

Thank Merlin David was still stationed near the Great Hall today.

"If everyone is listening, half the castle will be by now," she muttered and told him everything.

The prophecy she'd made was enough for him and his partner – Sanders, she thought – to switch into full auror mode. When she explained her suspicions about Scabbers and the fact that Bellatrix and cohorts were in the Forbidden Forest, more than likely waiting for the rat, their collective anger made her own blood boil.

"How come no one noticed?" Sanders asked through clenched teeth.

"The Forest doesn't have wards," she replied drolly. "Normally, the werewolves and acromantulas are enough to keep any sane person out. Add the dementors to the mix... but then, Bellatrix isn't exactly sane, is she?"

"So Carmen's getting Remus?" David asked her, forgetting the formal titles. It was more than ridiculous at this point, she conceded.

"Him and everyone else she comes across. I'm not all that worried about the rat... I think. Between Carmen and me, we could probably take him on our own – according to Dad he was never all that good at duelling. But he has a whole lot of backup out there – Crouch alone..."

"Be careful," David said quietly when Sanders went off to alert everyone who wasn't alerted yet.

"You too," she said and swallowed. "It was your testimony that put her away."

* * *

 **6:25pm**

Everybody was at dinner, down to the last student. The kids had done a stellar job and engaged everyone who'd been about to leave again in conversation.

Carmen and Marina were standing up front at the teacher table and discussing matters with a very furious Remus.

Even worse? Someone, she suspected David, had sent a Patronus message to her father who'd promptly apparated as close to the castle as possible before turning into Padfoot and running the rest of the way.

As soon as the aurors were also all present, Dumbledore stood and sealed the doors.

The students descended into stunned silence and nobody so much as moved a muscle.

Marina checked the Map again and saw that _Scabbers_ was still in Ron's pocket.

"Half the wards are all but broken," Elias reported grimly. "It must have taken weeks to weaken them like this."

"Try months," Marina countered darkly – Dumbledore had erected most those wards himself.

"Didn't you say he wasn't all that powerful?" Carmen asked mildly.

"Obviously we didn't know him as well as we thought," Remus growled angrily. They were running out of time. This full moon was one of the worse ones, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a mood already, rat or no rat.

She looked at Elias questioningly and he nodded; at least Remus had drunk the Wolfsbane.

"Could it be that's what she's waiting for?" Marina asked, almost whispering. "The full moon? She'd have to know about you what with Pettigrew..."

"It would be a diversion she'd go for," her father nodded. "Let lose a werewolf on the grounds and no one will notice why you're really here."

The other Prefects seemed slightly ill – they had been filled in along with the Head Boy and Girl. Even Percy looked greenish.

Harry, however, had apparently had enough of waiting and joined them at the head table when Dumbledore started explaining what was going on to the school.

* * *

 **6:40pm**

They had taken the news of a bunch of infamous Death Eaters lurking outside amazingly well. As Harry had predicted, Neville had been up and straining to help in minutes.

It had taken the Chasers, bless them, to talk him down. He was a great kid, and uniquely talented in Herbology, but he wouldn't last ten seconds against Death Eaters.

Minnie – McGonagall's cat form – stalked into the Hall through a side door and transformed back.

"Ms Black is quite correct, I'm afraid," she reported with anger clouding every word. "The three Lestranges and Crouch Jr are indeed in the Forest. With reinforcements."

"No one else shows on the Map," Marina said silently, shocked.

"They must be outside the Map's boundaries," her Dad muttered. "We didn't include all of the Forest – even we weren't that reckless."

"Unfortunately, they are wearing masks," McGonagall continued. "So I was unable to identify the others."

Marina snorted. Bloody cowards. She had a good idea who one of them might be – a wand hidden inside that stupid cane would prove her right.

"First things first," Carmen at least tried to sound like her usual self. "We need to deal with the rat."

"Pettigrew?" Harry echoed, surprised. "You mean he's here?"

Marina pinched the base of her nose.

"Ms Black believes he might be the rat called Scabbers," one of the aurors answered, obviously not knowing what he was doing.

Harry stilled. She could feel the anger in him rising fast and grabbed his arm before he could do something stupid.

"Easy there. We don't know for sure yet and you don't want to end up killing Ron's pet if I'm wrong, do you?"

"And if you're right?" he countered angrily. "Then I've been sharing a dormitory with my parents' murderer for three years."

"Well, there is one way to find out," her Dad announced darkly and pulled his wand. The fury she sensed in him scared her.

"Dad..." It wasn't like she was completely against killing the damn rat, and aurors had license to execute Death Eaters. But there was a whole lot of kids here.

"Don't worry, Kitten."

She really tried not to blush when he called her that in front of... oh, everyone. Him and Remus had completely adopted it as her Marauder nickname, whether she agreed or not – and even if there was nothing _infant_ about her animagus form anymore.

* * *

 **7:05pm**

 **Harry POV**

He couldn't remember ever having been this angry. To think that he'd been sleeping with _**the**_ rat next to him for years... …

Marina was trembling, not that she seemed to notice. One second she was clenching her hands in anger – his, Remus' and Sirius' he guessed –, the next she was holding her stomach – as Carmen was doing.

Harry didn't think he truly understood what the Empathy was like, beyond irritating. But Marina was clutching that ebony wand of hers as if her life depended on it, reigning in everybody's emotions.

And in addition she was worried herself as they watched Sirius and Remus walk down the Gryffindor table towards a very confused Ron.

He was not going to take this well, for all he complained about the rat.

Harry hastened after them – there was no way they were doing this without him. He heard Marina mutter something under her breath before she joined him.

As soon as they were standing near Ron, Marina put a hand on Sirius' arm in order to hold him back. Whatever she sensed must really have been freaking her out – normally she wouldn't doubt her father around any of them.

"Ron-," his sister said firmly. "-give us your rat."

"Scabbers?" his friend echoed, shocked. "Why?"

But nobody had to explain. As if the rat had heard them – come to think of it, he probably had – it clawed its way out of Ron's robes and scuttled away; no one was fast enough to catch the bugger.

No one but Marina's cat.

Just before his sister could turn and run after the coward – Harry was sure she would have accepted exposing her secret for this cause – her cat had the rodent under her paw.

"Starlight, no!" Marina ordered, relieved. "We need it alive."

Starlight purred as if in agreement.

"Cats aren't that smart," a first-year mumbled confused. Obviously muggle-born.

Not that all muggle-borns remained ignorant of the differences for long.

"She's half kneazle," Hermione explained authoritatively. "Kneazles are magical creatures similar to muggle cats – but they're a lot smarter and live longer."

Obviously she had read up on it when the saleswoman at the _Magical Menagerie_ had told her that Crookshanks was part kneazle.

Harry himself had wondered the same thing and Marina had given him _Fantastic Beasts_ to read.

Anyhow, he focused back on the drama unfolding in front of him. Crookshanks had joined Starlight and both of them were hissing at the rat trying to wriggle out of the latter's grip.

"Dad, now. There is only so much restraint my cat has," Marina remarked dryly and pointed her wand at the rat at the same time Sirius and Remus did.

Marina whispered the spell – Harry couldn't catch it – while the other two cast it silently. Blazing blue light shot out of their wands and hit the rat as one.

Scabbers let lose a terrible shriek, the cats fled the spell.

Ron was already on his feet in outrage, when _Scabbers_ started to grow.

"The spell forces an animagus back to human," explained Marina grimly.

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw Susan put a hand on Ron's arm in comfort, even as Hermione put one on his – to restrain him.

When the magic had done its work, there was a man in place of Scabbers.

Peter Pettigrew was small, no taller than Harry from what he could tell. His skin looked awfully grubby; he had tiny, watery blue eyes and a pointy nose. The brown hair Harry had seen in Sirius' memories had become colourless and very thin – he was almost bald.

All and all, Harry couldn't help but compare him to a rat even in human form.

* * *

 **7:11pm**

The collective anger was making Marina so furious she could barely see straight. She was immensely grateful to Hermione and Susan, who – outraged though themselves – had firm grips on Harry and Ron, who in turn were both shaking with fury.

Not for the first time tonight, she was grateful for the aurors. As part of their training, they'd been taught how to control their emotions in the most stressful situations. So focusing on them gave Marina an anchor.

Whatever else Peter was, he was not stupid. He must have known what was going on the second she had asked Ron for his rat, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to escape so hectically.

Now, fully back to human, he was faced with his former best friends and all of the Hogwarts staff, as well as a whole bunch of aurors.

So what did that snivelling, spineless, traitorous _**bastard**_ do? Well aware he wouldn't have the time to draw his wand, he reached left – and pulled a second-year in front of him as a human shield.

"Coward!" Marina spat before anyone else could. How he had ever made Gryffindor was beyond her.

"Let me leave and you can have him," the rat squeaked – even as a human.

But the moron had chosen the wrong hostage: Tyler.

Not about to end up a victim ever again, he'd asked his siblings to train him over the summer after the whole Chamber of Secrets debacle. Obviously that had been wise.

Prepared, Tyler had had his wand out as soon as the rat had started becoming human, and now he silently cast as Leg-Locker Curse directly at the coward's feet – while using his free right arm to ellbow the rat in the ribs at the same time.

As soon as Wormtail started to stumble, bound legs and all, Ty kicked him for good measure and darted to the side.

"Did you have him with you at Dad's trial?" Marina asked Ron without ever taking her eyes off the traitor.

"Yes," Ron forced out, disgust lacing his tone.

"Did you ever talk about your study group with him there?" she asked Harry quietly – it was the cover for their animagus training.

"No, he was already gone by that time," he answered just as quietly.

"Harry-," Wormtail started in a begging, desperate tone but stopped when her Dad took a furious step forwad, Remus by his side.

"Don't you _**dare**_ talk to him," he growled deeply. "Don't you dare even look at him."

"It's your fault he never knew his parents!" Hermione accused in an impressive show of courage, given how scared she really was.

"The Dark Lord-" Peter attempted a whiny defence, but Harry evidently didn't want to hear it.

"Was a maniac! _You_ were their friend! They trusted you and you betrayed them!" her brother yelled, and angry sparks shot out of his wand.

"You coward were more concerned about saving your own skin," Marina ground out, desperately trying to keep a hold of her own magic, which was coiling angrily inside her.

"You don't understand!" the rat whined. "He would have killed me!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!", roared her father, finally exploding. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" **²**

You could have heard the first-years' newly transfigured needles drop in the ensuing silence.

"I was never like you," Wormtail finally whispered. "There was never any choice but to serve him."

"Like, I suppose, there was no choice but to frame my father?" Marina forced out through her clenched teeth, the windows rattling as she lost her grip on her magic.

The younger students gasped, even as Wormtail tried to wriggle away from her.

All the emotions she was experiencing from everyone involved only amplified her own power, which explained how the torches went out. Dumbledore reignited them with a wave of his hand.

"He came after me!" Wormtail proclaimed accusingly – as if any of it had been her father's fault.

Marina took an angry step forward but someone pulled her back by her shoulder. There were only so many people who would be brave enough to do that in her current state, and most of them were in her line of sight. That left...

"Let go, David," she ground out – a bad sign all in itself.

"No," he replied firmly. "As angry as you are, you'd do something stupid."

Outrage flooded her – the rat _had_ cost her both parents, even if she'd gotten her Dad back – and she whirled around to argue.

"What exactly do you think I'd do?" she asked, shrugging off his hand. "I'm obviously not going to kill him."

"How is that obvious?" Elias asked somewhat dryly, a few steps behind – guarding Carmen from the looks of it.

"Because we'd much rather toss him to the Dementors," Harry answered coldly.

They'd hypothesised before about what they'd do if they could get their hands on the rat and agreed on prison, thinking if anyone deserved the hell that was Azkaban, it was the rat.

Marina wasn't entirely sure her Dad and Remus would have agreed if they had suspected in just how much danger Harry had been in for three years.

Wormtail burst into tears, terrified, and Marina had never hated her Empathy as much as in that moment. She didn't want to sense any of his emotions.

Then cold dread hit her from another direction, and she snapped her head around to look at Carmen. Her friend had paled dangerously, the Map was shaking in her hands.

"They're coming," she answered Marina's unanswered question. Fear hit her from all sides.

"Bellatrix must have cast an Alerting Charm **³** to let her know when he transformed," Remus ground out – the pain she was sensing told her they needed to get him to his office soon. The moon was rising.

* * *

 **²** **I had to put it in, I always loved that line in the books.**

 **³** **That one is** **not** **from the books, movies or canon in general.**


	20. The Hailstorm (II)

**7:49 pm**

Carmen should have said they were crawling. Otherwise there was no sense in the speed the Death Eaters were approaching the castle in.

"He's not going anywhere anytime soon," Sanders assured Marina as the Prefects and teachers gathered around the aurors, after the latter had thrown the rat in the dungeons.

"And if he turns?"

"He can't. Anti-Animagus ward," McGonagall told her brusquely.

"What is she waiting for?" the Head Girl, Lorelei, asked nervously.

 _The moon_ , Marina answered her mentally. But Bellatrix wouldn't get her wish tonight.

"The Dementors are another issue altogether," Percy mumbled. "They won't differentiate between us and the Death Eaters."

"I'll hold them off," Carmen told the lot of them – she'd always been better at the Patronus than Marina. Still...

"You won't be able to. Not on your own – it's at least a hundred of them."

"We'll help," the seventh-year Prefects offered. "We covered the Patronus with Professor Lupin this year."

Speaking of Remus, he _really_ needed to get gone right about now. He nodded, reluctantly, and made his way out of the Hall.

It rankled that they couldn't stay with him this month.

"Ms Nott is only fifteen-" one of the aurors protested, but David cut him off.

"And she's been trained by aurors half her life. My sister knows what she's doing," he said firmly, not allowing for argument.

"Besides, her Patronus is stronger than yours," Elias added grimly. "And she knows more combat spells too."

"Don't even start arguing about my daughter helping," her Dad stated when the aurors' looks settled on Marina instead. "You'll lose. She's been mentored by Moody – need I say more? I'd wager she's better at duelling than half of you."

Just then the moon was high enough to start the change, even though it wasn't even dark outside yet, and she could sense the pain hitting Remus.

But she didn't just sense him starting to change. Pain like his was hitting her from all sides and she couldn't help the groan that escaped.

"Marina?" Harry asked worriedly, holding her up by her elbow when she stumbled.

"Look at the Map," she ground out and breathed through the pain. Remus was going to kill her when Dad told him she could sense the change.

Carmen did as she told – and, from what she was sensing, almost fainted at what she saw. She started reading names out loud and the adults around them paled.

"What?" Susan asked, obviously not understanind anymore than Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"They're all werewolves," Marina forced out. "Bellatrix brought a bloody _army_ of wolves."

"It's the full moon," Susan whispered, thunderstruck. "They're dangerous tonight."

Only werewolves who drunk Wolfsbane Potion for a week before the moon were harmless – like Remus. But the ones in the Forest were likely feral.

"Why would they help her?" Hermione asked, aghast. "Coming to a school..."

"I'd wager Bellatrix didn't give them much of a choice," her Dad said grimly. "And the rest are hoping she'll bring her Master back."

"What? Why?" Ron stuttered, flabbergasted and obviously confused about why anyone would want that.

"Because our society shuns them," Carmen huffed and crossed her arms. "You get bitten and you're toast. Voldemort offers them freedom and a better life – that's why they followed him last time."

"But he's lying," Harry countered rationally. "He probably hates them too."

"Of course. But you live your life without friends, a home... sometimes even food, shunned by your own family. You'd be willing to grasp at straws too."

"Not all of them," Talbot announced grimly. "Some are just Dark. But they'd follow him, wolves or no wolves, so there is that."

"Won't they attack Bellatrix too?" Ron asked. "Once the change is done?"

"There are spells to hold off werewolves," David answered calmly.

"And she'd have no hesitation using them either," Marina frowned. Those spells were effective; and very painful on the wolf in question.

She would know: Remus had insisted she practice them on him, after Mad-Eye had taught her. As much as she'd hated causing him pain, she'd obliged; if only so he'd stop worrying that she'd be defenceless, should she ever come across a feral wolf.

"Why should she?" Snape sneered at her. "Not all wolves are tamed like your godfather."

* * *

 **8:05pm**

Deathly silence had descended on the Great Hall. Snape had spoken loud enough for everyone to hear him – and everybody knew who her godfather was, thanks to the _Prophet_.

"Severus!" Dumbledore admonished, not half as shocked as he sounded. She could only sense deep resignation – almost as if he'd seen it coming.

"You _bastard_ ," her Dad snarled and took an angry step – but Marina blocked him.

"We don't have time for this," she said, just as angry. "The change is almost over in all of them. As soon as the last is a full wolf, they'll attack. We _cannot_ let them near the castle."

"Lupin is a werewolf?" one of the aurors questioned, disgust clear in every syllable.

"Why do you think he left?" Carmen snapped. "He drinks Wolfsbane Potion and locks himself in every full moon."

"He should not be near children!" the only female auror present said shrilly.

"He's the best teacher we ever had," Susan responded dryly, every bit as outraged on Remus' behalf as the others. "Aunt Amelia recommended him, by the way." And Madame Bones had access to the Registry so she knew Remus was infected.

"He's dangerous!"

"As opposed to a teacher possessed by Voldemort?" Hermione asked sharply. "Or a basilisk in the school? Because Professor Lupin doesn't qualify after that."

Harry was too busy trying to incinerate Snape with a glare to defend Remus.

"I have never brewed him any potion," Snape pointed out – as if it was a good thing.

"Thankfully we have our own Potions Master at hand," David said smugly, motioning at his best friend. "So you really weren't needed, Snape."

"Enough!" Marina bellowed when they would have continued to argue – in front of the whole school no less. "The change will be over in about three seconds and we'll be faced with a few dozen werewolves that actually _**are**_ dangerous. How about we focus on the problem at hand?"

They could contemplate how to curse Snape later.

While the aurors started coming up with a plan, she motioned the kids to a corner.

"You four are staying in here," she told them sternly.

"But-"

"No buts," she interrupted sharply. "You four are powerul for your age and smart, all of you, but you wouldn't last ten seconds against Bellatrix and her cohorts. And you don't even know the spells against werewolves."

Acknowledging that they were fairly powerful – they had to be or they couldn't have started animgaus training so early – seemed to have smoothed some feathers.

"Now listen: your job will be to help the teachers – whichever of them will stay behind – to keep everyone in here. _**Especially**_ Neville. No more Longbottoms will fall at Bellatrix' wand."

"They won't listen to us."

"Draco and Theo will help – they already offered. Ginny and Ty too. And I'm sure the Quidditch teams will pitch in when needed." In fact she'd already talked to Angelina about it.

"What if they get past you?" Ron asked, but she didn't sense fear. More like calculation. She could see how he'd gotten through the Chess Board his first year; she could all but see his brain forming strategies.

"Unlikely. But let's say that the wolves will get past all of us _and_ the dementors, then I want you to behave very un-Gyffindor-like," she said dryly and lowered her voice to a whisper. "If so much as one wolf gets in here, you change into your animagus forms."

"But you said-"

"Keeping it secret is not as important as staying alive," she shook her head. "Just try not to kill each other if it comes to it. Animal instincts are a pain the first few times."

"Be careful," Harry said and hugged her, before the four of them made their way back to their respective tables.

Marina joined the others and noted the bemused look her father shot her.

"I gave them a job," she shrugged. "As long as they get to help they're happy."

* * *

 **8:19pm**

"Whose bright idea was it to put Dad and Snape next to each other?" Marina grumbled once everybody who would be helping was outside and taking position.

According to the Map, the Death Eaters were moving much faster now. They would descend on the castle any minute.

"Sirius, of course," David replied as they arrived at their assigned location. "He wants to keep an eye on him."

Marina harrumphed.

"Wonderful. They'll be busy killing each other instead of Bellatrix and her friends."

Of course, she wasn't that much smarter. Elias had insisted on staying close to Carmen – the shock – and her friend had acquiesced as long as David stayed with Marina.

Except Carmen had acted out of concern for her brother, not her, and known Marina would insist on the same. Bellatrix was what David feared the most in this world – and after '81 who could blame him – but Marina worried he wasn't aware just how scared he really was. Aurors were experts in suppressing their emotions.

She just wanted to be there, in case reality hit him at the wrong moment.

"I don't know why we bother, really. Dumbledore alone could handle this," David mumbled, only half joking.

"He can take care of the wolves all by his lonesome, sure," she agreed. "But even Dumbledore can't be everywhere at once."

Bright light flared somewhere behind them and she knew Carmen and the others had cast their Patronuses.

Just in time too, Marina mused, as she saw wolves burst out of the Forest, howling in unison. For the first time, she was glad Remus had made her parctice the anti-werewolf curses.

She'd need them.

* * *

 **8:47pm**

 **Harry POV**

He was going stir crazy.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Susan, Theo, Draco and three of the four Quidditch teams had managed to gather all the students as far away from the door as possible.

McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout and Madame Pomfrey had stayed to keep everyone in line and, if need be, protect them.

For almost half an hour now, they'd been hearing the sounds of battle from outside.

It was driving Harry round the bend not to know what was going on. He'd been tempted to become a raven and look – but Hermione had reminded him that he couldn't even fly yet; this time around she was right about it.

"They're fine," Susan assured him, sounding like she needed assurance herself.

Marina had agreed when Carmen had given them the Map on her way out. It was like watching bad TV, he thought, as dots clashed with others on the grounds.

From what he could tell Sirius was fighting Crouch Jr, while Snape was duelling Rabastan Lestrange.

The aurors, Hogwarts staff and Head Boy and Girl were all busy with the wolves.

David and Marina were fighting Rudolphus Lestrange and... Bellatrix.

Elias must have seen from his higher position, because his dot looked like he was sprinting there to help his friends. As was Carmen.

"Without the two of them it's only the Prefects holding the demenors off," Hermione realised somewhat horrified, as they were well aware just how many dementors there were outside.

"We need to help them," Theo chimed in, sounding a little shaky, but with determination on his face. Draco nodded in agreement.

Harry still couldn't get over how much the latter had changed. He was still an arrogant prat, but he supposed that wasn't what Narcissa had tried to re-educate him about.

"How do we get past the teachers?" Ron asked, his eyes glued to the dot that represented his older brother.

They were still contemplating when they received an answer.

"The dungeon!" Filch wheezed as he hurried inside the Hall. "It's empty!"

"Anti-Animagus Ward, my hide," one of the twins muttered grumpily, even as Harry looked at the Map more carefully. And there Pettigrew was... near Remus' office.

"If he opens that door...," Angelina said somewhat worriedly.

"Then he'll find himself faced with a fully grown, pissed off wolf," Patricia replied. "Professor Lupin drank Wolfsbane so he's himself underneath the fur. And Pettigrew betrayed him, so..."

Meanwhile the rest of the teams informed the teachers of the new development.

"He couldn't have escaped without help!" McGonagall thundered, outraged that someone had been able to break her ward. She and Flitwick took off to investigate.

Still staring at the Map, Harry and his friends saw the Prefects' dots … tremble, and then they didn''t move at all.

"That's how it looks when someone faints," George informed them, shooting a fleeting look at Patricia – who they all knew had fainted over her O.W.L.s.

They all stared at each other, terrified, as they realised what that meant. Without the Patronuses...

The lot of them started running, ignoring Sprout and Pomfey's yells to come back, and tore out of the Great Hall, heading for the fight.

"Marina and Carmen are going to kill us," Theo remarked halfway there, sprinting along next to Harry. The brunette had taken her cousin under her cloak right around Christmas.

"So will Sirius and Benjamin," Harry agreed, but thought that then at least they'd be alive.

A wolf howled _**inside**_ the castle.

"How does that rat keep outsmarting everyone?" Fred huffed, apparently still not happy that he'd never known Scabbers was a wizard.

"No one ever said he was stupid," Harry said grimly. "He fooled everyone in '81."

"Remus is not a threat," Susan said firmly and pointed ahead. "They are."

The Hogwarts grounds had turned into a war zone.

Spells were flashing everywhere, wolves were growling and howling, people were screaming warnings at each other...

… and a woman was laughing hysterically. No, not laughing, cackling.

All hair on Harry's neck stood on end – but they all kept running anyway.

Theo, Draco and the twins joined Percy in fighting the wolves – apparently the Weasleys had taught all their children after Remus had told the story of how he'd been infected. Theo and Draco had already known the spells from their fathers.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Susan stayed back a bit, fully aware that they'd be a distraction if Sirius or Marina saw them.

Elias and Carmen had taken over duelling Rudolphus, Marina had joined David to fight Bellatrix.

"How can they stand against two?" Hermione asked, exasperated and worried.

"Dark Magic," Ron replied grimly. "Plus, our people are worried about the wolves and dementors."

As if on cue, the temperature dropped about twenty degrees.

"Oh no," Susan moaned and hugged herself. "They broke through."

 _Worse_ , Harry thought, _much worse_. It was the first time since Azkaban that Sirius was anywhere near the creatures.

Harry watched in horror as Sirius started trembling, even as he attempted to keep duelling his opponent.

Snape, he noted angily, noticed how it was affecting his godfather – and _smiled_.

To make matter worse, Marina must have sensed that Sirius was in pain.

"Dad!" she screamed, terrified, from across the field. "DAD!"

But it was no use. Bellatrix cackled louder than ever when Sirius succumbed, rocking on the ground and clutching his head.

"Stupefy!" Susan yelled next to him, shocking the daylights out of them all. But she hit her target. Rabastan Lestrange crumbled, stunned, and Crouch Jr focused on Snape instead of killing Sirius.

Unfortunately, now everyone noticed they were here.

To his surprise, his sister didn't sound all that angry when she spoke.

"Harry, Patronus, now!" she yelled, even as she blocked a curse that had been aimed at David.

Tears were streaming down Marina's face – and Harry understood. Not only were the dementors affecting her personally, she had to go through everyone else's pain as well.

"Think happy thoughts," he told the others. "Your happiest."

The three looked at him oddly, but he didn't have time to explain.

" _Expecto Patronum!_ ", he said, thinking about winning the Quidditch Cup. Nothing.

He tried again, thinking of how Sirius had been cleared. Nothing.

He could hear the others muttering the spell, but nothing but flimsy mist made it out of their wands.

"SIRIUS!" Carmen screamed suddenly and Harry turned his head to see her and Elias, after they'd beaten Rudolphus, run his godfather's way. He looked – and almost screamed himself when he saw the dozen dementors surrounding Sirius.

"NO!" Marina had finally seen it too. "NO, GET AWAY FROM HIM!" David had to block a spell aimed at her this time.

"DAD, SNAP OUT OF IT! … DAD!"

But the effect they had on him was too strong. If anything he curled into a ball even more. Carmen and Elias would never make it in time.

One of the dementors leaned down, one gnarly hand at his hood – and Marina abandoned any pretense of duelling her cousin.

"NO! DAD!" she screamed, voice breaking and fully crying now. "DADDY!"

And Harry remembered: she'd first called Sirius that on Christmas Eve, saying it almost shyly, as if a fifteen year-old was too old to use the endearment. Sirius had beamed brighter than the Christmas lights.

It had been the best Christmas of his life, at a real home and with his family.

" _ **EXPECTO PATRONUM!**_ "

This time it worked, and something big burst out of his wand, just like during the Quidditch match. But now Harry could tell what it was: a big, translucent stag.

It was pulsing in the silver-blue light of a Patronus and galloping across the field – impaling the dementor trying to Kiss Sirius on his antlers.

The dementors – and the wolves – fled as the stag tore across the grounds and attacked them all.

His friends stared at him, gaping – as did everyone else, for that matter. His stag was still pulsing light, which kept pushing dementors away.

Marina's eyes were as big as saucers and she looked as gobsmacked as the others.

Then David bellowed in pain next to her and she snapped her head around to find him half on fire.

Harry watched in amazement as his sister, now not worrying about her father anymore, let lose on Bellatrix.

He didn't know a lot about duelling yet, but they looked evenly matched. Bellatrix might be insane, and didn't care about extra damage because of it – not even to herself –, but Marina was _**furious**_.

"You're not getting anyone else, you bloody lunatic," Marina snapped, and in the sudden silence everyone could hear her.

"You think you could beat _**me**_?" Bellatrix cackled and countered whatever hex Marina had sent her way.

Marina didn't answer, just sent a hex straight through the shield the other witch had cast. Bellatrix looked slightly surprised while dodging it.

"Mad-Eye sends his regards," his sister said almost smugly, and Bellatrix stopped laughing.

Harry knew the rules – you didn't interfere in a duel. It was a stupid rule as far as he was concerned. But not even David moved to help Marina, obviously having reached the conclusion that she had challenged and Bellatrix had accepted.

Duelling Champion or not, his sister was getting tired. She'd been awake for almost a week straight, for Merlin's sake, and sat through her O.W.L.s. Now she'd been fighting a witch twice her age for over an hour.

And then Sirius woke up – and Marina must have sensed it because she lost focus for a second.

 _One second too long._ Bellatrix next spell hit her in the shoulder.

Everyone roared in terror as she arched in obvious pain and crumbled, Harry already running to her, and David stepped in front of her to take over fighting the cackling fruitcake.

But then Dumbledore, who'd covered the other side of the castle all by himself, stepped onto the battle field.

Bellatrix saw him – and disapparated. Obviously one of the spells the rat had disabled was the Anti-Apparation Ward. Crouch Jr, not interested in taking on the Headmaster either, it seemed, followed.

It was over.

* * *

 _ **8:05am, the next morning**_

"Should we wake her up?" Carmen wondered quietly, looking at a still sleeping Marina.

Bellatrix' curse had caused severe inner bleeding. Madame Pomfrey had fixed her in a few seconds but had forced her to drink Sleeping Potion to recover.

"Not yet," Sirius shook his head. "Give her another hour, she'll still have plenty of time before the train leaves." Like Harry, he hadn't left her side all night. He was sitting on one side of the bed, holding her hand, Harry on the other.

McGonagall had given Carmen access to the Gryffindor tower and, with Angelina's help, she'd packed Marina's stuff. Ron and Neville had packed Harry's.

"She'll be mortified when she wakes up," David said quietly – he hadn't left either.

"Losing against Bellatrix is nothing to be ashamed of," Sirius growled. "I have often enough."

"Not about that. Though she'll beat herself up about that too," David added musingly. "No. About what she called you in front of everyone. In front of Death Eaters."

"She was a wee bit scared. He was about to get Kissed," Carmen commented dryly, then sighed. "But yes, she'll never let herself live it down."

Sirius winced. He'd been beyond embarrassed when he'd regained his senses.

"I'll go update Remus before he wears a hole into his office floor," Carmen said after a few minutes.

"How is he?" Harry asked, stifling a yawn.

"Furious that the rat got away, but grateful McGonagall and Flitwick managed to lock him back in before he got far."

After the brunette had left, they sat there and watched his sister breathe. She hadn't so much as twitched all night, too exhausted to even get comfortable.

"Harry, can you give us a moment?" Sirius suddenly asked and he looked up to find the man staring at David. Harry looked at the older Nott too.

He looked awful. The dark circles under his eyes had dark circles, his hair was a mess, his robes rumpled, his eyes bloodshot and blood still all over his clothes. He'd barely allowed Madame Pomfrey to heal his burns, refusing to leave Marina's side.

Harry smiled inwardly. It had taken Sirius some time to notice.

"Nope," he replied cheerily. He'd already received the lecture about not listening to Marina about staying inside. Sirius had grounded him for a month – but seeing as he'd still be allowed to the Quidditch World Cup... well.

His godfather looked at him sharply but didn't make it an order.

Instead he focused back on the young auror, who looked intirely too exhausted for what Harry suspected Sirius wanted to discuss.

"My daughter is barely sixteen," Sirius sternly, pulling the _**protective-father**_ tone off very well. And yet he had acknowledged that the week until her birthday didn't really matter.

Harry grinned at the floor and saw David stiffen from the corner of his eye.

"You thought I wouldn't notice?" Sirius asked, rather drolly, when David didn't say anything.

"Don't worry, I won't tell her," David finally said – and Harry looked up quickly.

"Why not?" he asked with a huff – he had overheard the girls talking after Christmas. He knew Marina liked David.

Neither one of the _adults_ , Harry mentally rolled his eyes, looked like they wanted to talk with him about it. But David answered anyway.

"We're friends and I don't want to lose her," he said very, very quietly – as if afraid she'd wake up and hear if he talked too loud.

"Why would you lose her?" Harry asked, now confused. When people liked each other, they didn't stop being friends, right?

"She doesn't lo... like me that way."

Harry looked back at Marina's matress, so he wouldn't blurt out what he thought. If his sister hadn't told David that she liked him, then there was a reason... right?

Sirius had no such qualms.

"Says who?" he asked dryly.

David's head shot up from inspecting his robes' hem and he met Sirius' eyes. Harry didn't need Marina's blasted Empathy to see the sudden hope in the man's eyes.

Neither did his godfather. He sighed wearily.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but... Look, my daughter is a brilliant and talented witch. And that cursed Empathy of hers has forced her to grow up a lot faster than others – which is why I agreed to get her the Maturity Exception.

But it's because of the Empathy that she doesn't have a lot of self-worth. Or haven't you noticed she's always taking care of everyone _**but**_ herself?"

Harry had noticed. Marina had told him once that, aside from the family and close friends, it was pure self-defence. If she helped people not to be so miserable, she didn't have to go through it with them.

"She told me she _really_ didn't like your girlfriend," Sirius continued. "And in the same sentence she said that she helped you get out of having to take her home for Christmas, so Jenna wouldn't be mad at you for it – or you at her for refusing to come."

"Ex-girlfriend," David corrected absentmindedly. "But how can she _**not**_ know how I feel? She always knows."

"You're never alone," Harry chimed in hesitantly. "The way she explained it, when there is too much at once, she can't always pinpoint where the emotions come from."

"So she probably told herself it wasn't coming from you," Sirius nodded.

"But _why_?" David asked, aghast.

That one Harry could answer.

"Because people are thick," he huffed. "They called me a freak because I have that scar, never mind when I started speaking Parseltongue. What do you think they call her?"

Sirius and David both looked positively outraged.

"She brushes it off, at least it looks like she does, but... some of it must have registered."

Merlin knew it had when they'd looked at Harry like he was a freak.

"She told me there was gossip but never that they..." David looked crushed.

Harry started to think that maybe, possibly, he shouldn't have said anything.

"That's more than she told me," Sirius grumbled – but Harry saw the hurt.

"Because you'd just gotten out of prison. And she doesn't want you to worry," Harry explained, guilt creeping in.

He'd had more of Sirius during the Christmas Holidays than Marina. She'd fought for her father's freedom and then Harry had gone and monopolized him.

"She doesn't want anyone really taking care of her either," David noted, eyeing Sirius with concern. "Since she started school, no one really has – Andromeda and Ted tried, but... she didn't let them anymore."

"My Kitten," Sirius said quietly and stroked Marina's hair. "So she was alone all this time."

"Not quite," David was quick to disagree. "Carmen and she were inseparable since the first time they met. They were five."

"And she keeps telling me stories about all the time with Remus," Harry added quietly.

Silence reigned for a few minutes.

"Maybe I should go to the Cup with the Weasleys," Harry then suggested. "And you stay home with her. She doesn't really like Quidditch."

Sirius smiled at that.

"It was her idea to get an extra set of tickets," he told him. "She doesn't like flying – doesn't mean she doesn't like Quidditch. All she has to do is focus on you having fun and she won't even go queasy – her words, not mine."

"And she'd worry herself senseless if you went without her and Sirius," David added gently.

Which apparently reminded Sirius of the original subject of their conversation. But he didn't look all that … huffy... anymore. Just... like a father.

"If you hurt her, you'll wish for Azkaban," he told David darkly, the bear-sized dog sounding through.

"Noted," David replied – and smiled, for some reason.

Harry barely heard his next words.

"But she'd probably beat you to it."

* * *

 **Any thoughts?**

 **For all those who might have thought I'd change it, sorry but the rat had to get away. You'll see...**


	21. Summer

_**July 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

 **1:45pm**

Dear Merlin, Marina was tired.

She'd been out of it for two weeks now, Bellatrix' curse having affected her more than she'd expected. Everybody was fussing and hovering – it totally freaked her out.

Apparently, the House Cup had been awarded at breakfast this time, while she'd been knocked out in the Hospital Wing – Gryffindor had won, of course.

And as one might have expected, owls had started arriving from enraged parents, demanding that Remus be sacked. He'd made it easy on Dumbledore and resigned instead.

The ride home had been a welcome relief since Angelina, Alicia and Katie had barely mentioned the fact that she'd looked like hell. Neither had Carmen, Patricia and Samantha – the second Ravenclaw Beater.

Harry and his friends had, not very subtly, taken the compartment right next to them and checked in on her every once in a while.

Back home at Liberty House, as it had been christened for a floo adress, Remus and her father had continued the fussing and she hadn't been allowed to so much as make her bed with magic, let alone practice for next year's Duelling League Cup qualifying – she'd ascended to the adult league.

And everybody knew now that she still needed pactice. Her cheeks burned in shame, everytime she remembered that curse hitting her, all because she'd let herself be relieved that her Dad had woken up.

That was the reason why Teresa had stopped by four times in two weeks. But talking about it only served as a reminder just how close that bloody dementor had been to Kissing her father.

Of course, those talks ultimately came around to Harry and his Patronus. He'd singlehandedly gotten rid of a hundred dementors at once. Therefore, it was the consensus that Harry would get extra tutoring from Remus – and maybe Mad-Eye if he agreed.

Ron, to everyone's surprise, had talked to his parents who had then proceeded to owl McGonagall: the young Weasley had decided to ditch Divination – big surprise – and take up Muggle Studies instead. Since just about everyone in his family had at least received an O.W.L. in the subject, the tutoring to catch up an entire year wouldn't be too hard.

And after lying in bed practically all the bloody time, it had been Marina's birthday yesterday.

In the morning, they'd had a huge breakfast (lots of bacon), then they'd taken her shopping – Marina noted the sacrifice from three males. At noon, her Dad had taken her to the Duelling Finals and she'd even gotten a chance to talk to the winner, Ian Beckett, afterwards.

For dinner her Dad had gone all out and invited _**everyone**_ : the Tonks, the Weasley twins, the Gryffindor Chasers, the Notts (all of them), Elias, Kingsley and Mad-Eye – the latter had of course declined; he just didn't do parties. Marina herself had gone and invited Hestia after Remus had mentioned her Dad hadn't thought it appropriate – it had been her brithday after all.

They'd had a huge party in the backyard, and since she'd insisted that no one buy her any presents because they always spent so much on Christmas, it had been perfect.

After everyone had gone home, Marina had gone up to her room – and found a present on her bedside table.

She would have known who it was from even without the card. David had been very nervous all evening – and Marina just couldn't figure out why.

She'd felt inexplicably giddy when she'd opened the small package. When a jewellery box had fallen out, it hadn't helped matters.

David had gotten her a beautiful necklace with a pendant that looked uncannily like her lynx form. It was all white-gold.

Marina had spent at least an hour staring at it, an ache in her chest. Carmen had been right: she was so doomed on that front.

* * *

 **2:00pm**

Either way, she'd promised Hermione that they'd start animagus lessons today, so that's where she was headed.

At breakfast, some Ministry wizard had shown and collected some of her blood and hair. She'd been utterly confused but her Dad had explained that it was for the Maturity Exception so she'd obliged. Apparently, she'd have to drink the potion at midnight to make it work: it would quite literally 'age' her magic so it would register as adult. The Trace would dissipate immediately.

Marina couldn't apparate yet and there had been no way she'd take a broomstick halfway across the country, so the Ministry had agreed to connect the Grangers to the Floo Network on the days of the lessons.

The others had been right: there wasn't anything, it seemed, the Ministry wouldn't grant her father.

She stumbled out in the Grangers' living room, coughing up soot. There just was no winning with floo powder.

* * *

 **2:15pm**

"So am I understanding this right?" Katherine asked, stirring her tea. "Hermione will become a cat and you'll teach her how?"

"Well, I'll teach her how to _be_ a cat," Marina corrected calmly. "She already knows how to turn into one."

"I explained, Mum," the girl in question chimed in. "Before you and Dad signed the permission."

"Yes, honey," Richard agreed. "But I think your mother and I didn't quite understand..."

"That your daughter would actually become an animal?" Marina finished.

"It just sounds so... fictional," Katherine said, obviously not knowing how else to put it.

"You have met my family, right?" she countered dryly. "But I know what you mean. My father turns into a big dog on a regular basis – it took some getting used to."

"I played with a black dog," Richard said, startled. "At New Year's."

"That would have been Dad," Marina replied evenly, trying hard not to roll her eyes. It was typical for her father. "As you know, he's been falsely imprisoned for over a decade – he turns when it all gets too much."

Though he was barely doing it anymore, at least not out of pressure or stress.

"Look-," Marina said gently, "-not to be rude or anything but... second thoughts are kind of mute by now. Hermione has already finished the process. Now she just needs to learn how to control it, so she doesn't accidentally turn in the middle of class. Or worse – in front of other muggles."

Parents of muggle-borns were let in on the big secret, obviously, but the Statute remained otherwise.

"Are you tutoring the other kids as well?" Katherine questioned, ignoring her daughters huff at the term _kids_.

"No. They have tutors that are better suited for their animals."

"Hermione mentioned you wouldn't tell us what they are," Richard commented drolly.

"I'm sorry about that," Marina apologised. "But the animagus form makes an exellent ace up the kids' sleeves – but for that it needs to stay a secret. And please don't take it personally, but you're muggles so you don't have our mental defences. Many of us don't either."

Not that Marina expected that Death Eaters would actually try and come after the Grangers, but better safe than sorry. That's why their house was heavily warded.

"Does Hermione?"

Marina raised her eyebrows at that question – Hermione would be taking occlumency lessons every Friday this summer, together with Harry, Ron and Susan. Amelia Bones had insisted on it after the attack on the castle. She'd assumed she'd told her parents what she would be doing.

Hermione blushed bright red when she looked at her and looked at her parents nervously.

"That's what the extra lessons at Harry's house are for," she explained in such a rush Marina had trouble understanding her.

Richard and Katherine didn't.

Familiar parental outrage filled them both, and Marina cut in before it could turn into an argument.

"It's just a precaution," Marina assured them. "No one at Hogwarts actually presents any danger."

Except maybe for Snape. She hadn't forgotten that he had happily tried to feed her father to a dementor – or at least left him to them.

"Alright then," Richard conceded and put an arm around his wife. "Then you'd best get to it."

* * *

 **11:57pm**

"She's good at it, actually," Marina told the men that night. Harry had insisted on staying awake for the big aging up. "Just very... impatient." The girl would be very sore in the morning because she'd overdone it.

"Sounds like Hermione," Harry nodded with a yawn. Marina snorted.

"Look who's talking. Carmen said you flew too much today – you'll feel _**that**_ in the morning, trust me."

A rebellious look crossed his face that had Remus and her father chuckling. They'd had that argument before after all.

"So they're on board with the occlumency?" her Dad asked then, sipping his hot chocolate.

"Yes. They're just not too happy with Hermione lying about it."

The Ministry wizard cleared his throat in the corner and Marina looked at the clock. Seven seconds.

She picked up the potion the Ministry had brewed, under Elias' watchful eye she'd been told, and figured she'd best hold her breath if it tasted as awful as it looked.

Then she chucked it down in one go, dimly hearing the wizard speak the incantation needed.

A wave of her magic burst out of her, rattling the windows and appliances, and then nothing.

"Welcome to adulthood," the wizard intoned, like he'd said it one time too often before, and waved his wand to sign the Exception. One copy went to the Ministry, the other into her Gringotts vault and the last to Hogwarts.

"That's it?" Harry asked, clearly underwhelmed.

"Told you," she replied, yawning herself now. "It's no big deal, other than the Ministry staying off my back now."

* * *

 _ **July 14**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

 **1:45pm**

"Only you, sis," Carmen shook her head while hurrying about the room. "Only you could get away with sprining an impromptu wedding on Mum and Dad."

Marina thought it was ingenious. Laura was a lot like Molly Weasley when it came to fussing about her children.

Bianca had never been much for fuss, and while she did want her wedding day, she hadn't wanted Laura driving everyone crazy for months on end. So Talib and she had sent out invitations at the end of the school year and made everyone promise to keep it from her family.

Last night then she'd presented Jupiter and Laura with a fully planned wedding, complete with a seating chart and menu, and told them all they had to do was show up.

For a moment Marina had been worried Laura would faint – she'd opted for berating Bianca instead. But she'd caught Jupiter congratulating his eldest for outsmarting them later on.

So now here they were, gathered at the Nott's house, and getting ready for a wedding half the guests hadn't known about until yesterday.

"I let the auror office know in advance, so you could have your dream escort," Bianca replied slyly.

Carmen almost dropped her indigo dress and glared at her sister. It was a bit of a running joke by now, since even blind people would have noticed Elias and her feelings for each other.

Subtle, they were not. Still single – that they were.

Marina closed her eyes, knowing what would come next.

"Same goes for you, by the way," Bianca told her with a grin.

It had been like waking up in Twilight Zone after the ride home. Everybody suddenly seemed to know that she had feelings for David – even though she'd only recently accepted it – and was acting weird about it. Matchmaking was not their strong suit.

Didn't mean Marina was immune to it, though. She couldn't remember a single time she'd been so nervous about how she looked. She'd actually floo-called Dromeda for help this morning.

She was turning into one of _**those**_ women, and not quite sure how she felt about that.

Not about to make every female freak out on her wedding, Bianca – more like Talib – had hired Madame Malkins to tailor the dresses the night before and this morning (it must have cost a fortune, what with the house calls).

So now Marina was wearing an absolutely gorgeous, emerald gown, complete with silver embroidery matching her necklace – yes, the lynx necklace. Not even her father was protesting the Slytherin-y colours, so she couldn't look all that bad.

Carmen was wearing indigo blue with golden embroidery – to match the golden kite necklace Elias had given her for her birthday.

The girls supposed the two aurors had come up with the idea together and, knowing there was just about nothing Carmen and she didn't share, had gone for it.

Bianca though was the biggest surprise. Her wedding gown was a mix of lavender – her favourite colour – and dark yellow – Talib's African robes were the same shade. It looked remarkably beautiful, despite the odd mix. Or maybe because of it.

* * *

After the ceremony, which had been shortened, the reception was one big party.

Between the African and Irish folk music, it was a miracle anyone understood what anyone was saying at all.

The kids had long retreated into a corner and fled the adults.

Marina had never danced so much in her life. Apparently, as one of the bridesmaids she couldn't exactly turn anyone down.

Though she did owe Bianca for inviting Hestia. If her father actually still believed he was over the witch... well, he'd catch on sometime. Marina, anyway, had talked him out of any guilt should he ever be interested in anyone. He shouldn't stay alone just because he'd never loved her mother.

"May I cut in?" David asked behind her as she was dancing with one of Talib's groomsmen.

"Of course," he replied and stepped back with a half-bow to her.

"You looked like you needed a break," David mused as he took her hand – and pulled her out of the tent and behind the house. She sighed in relief.

"Duelling isn't as exhausting as dancing with thirty wizards in a row," she agreed. "All the while trying not to get high on the overall happiness."

"High?" he asked, amused.

"There is about seventy people in there, all very happy for your sister right now. Never mind her and Talib. I felt like I was floating the whole time. So yes, high."

They sat down next to each other on the backdoor stairs and Marina leaned her head on his shoulder. The silence was a welcome break.

David slung an arm around her shoulders.

"You look stunning, by the way," he told her quietly, sounding oddly... nervous.

"Thank you," she replied, well aware that Bianca had set it up. David's tie was the same colour as her gown.

Marina had given up by now. Avoiding situations like these was all but impossible, especially when she didn't really want to.

The only time she felt as safe, and at peace, as she did with her Dad and Remus, was when she was with David. There was no point in deluding herself.

"So are you going to put Elias out of his misery and tell him that you're okay with him and Carmen anytime soon?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Who says I am?" he countered grumpily – but she could feel his lips twitch against her hair.

"Well, you haven't jinxed or hexed him yet," she drawled. "And they have kind of given up on being subtle."

"He ask her yet?"

"As if he would without talking to you first," she snorted. David sighed rather dramatically.

"What makes him think he needs my permission?" he wondered, probably to himself.

"You're his best friend and she's your little sister," she answered anyway. "You tell me."

"You don't think he's too old for her?" David questioned – but something was off. He was not even half as noncholant about it as he pretended to be. He really should know better.

"Yes, because six years is an eternity," she said sarcastically. "Besides, who cares? She l... likes him, so it doesn't matter." Marina would _**so**_ not announce her friend's feelings before Carmen did herself.

"And since she conveniently got the Exception, it's not even against the law," she added, wondering for a moment if that was why Carmen had asked to get it. She hadn't been as concerned about the Trace as Marina.

"She's still in school, people will talk," David mumbled – again with that _off_ tone that she couldn't explain.

"Well, that clearly wouldn't bother them, so why should it bother you?"

"If you were her, would it bother you?" he countered – his pulse jumping for a second. He was getting very good at controlling his emotions. She couldn't get a clear read.

But it was David, so she answered honestly.

"Yes, but only because it would be nobody's business. I'd probably blow the caskett about people sticking their noses where it doesn't belong.

And gossip is a small price to pay for the things you want."

There hadn't been a day that went by at Hogwarts when she hadn't heard rumours about her Dad and Remus living under the same roof. Two grown men just didn't do that.

People were prats.

David felt a whole lot happier all of a sudden and Marina was about to ask when Laura called them back to the celebration. Apparently the bride wanted a dance with her brother.

It was only much later that night, when Marina was lying in bed, that she started to think that David hadn't been talking about Carmen and Elias at all.

* * *

 _ **August 1**_ _ **st**_ _ **1994**_

 **10:25am**

"Harry still sleeping?" Remus asked, joining them for breakfast and looking better for the first time in over a week. The last moon had been the worst Marina had seen so far.

"Well, yes," she deadpanned. "The four of them stayed up all night."

Harry's fourteenth birthday had been a feat. Ron, Hermione and Susan – who, at this point, had been all but adopted into the inner circle – had come over for breakfast already. They'd spent the morning in Harry's room, gossiping about their animagus lessons.

After lunch, the rest of the Weasleys had come over and the boys had immediately had a Quidditch match in the forest. The girls had gone along to cheer.

Shockingly, the four had then spent almost an hour animatedly chatting about Runes (Harry and Hermione) and Muggle Studies (Ron and Susan) before Remus and her father had taken the lot of them to the Irish Beast Reservoir – basically the wizarding equivalent of a zoo, only much more attuned to the creatures' needs.

Then, while Remus and Marina had cooked dinner, the kids had played chase with a very happy Padfoot. Sometimes she thought that James had been right and her Dad should just stay a dog.

After dinner, Harry had gotten his presents:

Hermione had given him _Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland_ , apparently aware that he still hadn't chosen one to support.

Ron and Susan had gotten him a years' supply in candy – lots of it chocolate, which told Marina that the dementors had freaked them out more than they were willing to admit.

The twins had handed him some of their self-made products, careful to hide that from Molly.

He'd refused to let any of them buy him something, and Remus, Dad and she had agreed under the condition that they would get to give him Christmas presents. So that was that.

And after another hour of celebrating, Molly had mentioned that it was time to go home.

To which the kids had replied with puppy-dog eyes, begging to be allowed to stay the night.

Hermione had cleared it with her parents beforehand and Susan had floo-called her aunt sometime before the Reservoir, presenting the adults with the accomplishment after the fact. So, of course, Molly had given in and only dragged the twins home.

Her father had transfigured Harry's bed into bunkbeds and left the kids to their own devices.

"It was his first birthday with us," her Dad said almost defensively. Marina smiled sadly.

"It was his first birthday party, period," she corrected quietly.

"So you'll be talking to him today, Padfoot?" Remus asked and she couldn't help the broad grin. The two of them had fallen back into the habit of mostly using their Marauder names.

"Moony..." Her father sounded almost warningly.

"Relax, Dad. He'll say Yes," she told him confidently and swallowed another bite.

"You know?" he asked her, shocked.

"Oh please. If you don't want people overhearing you, don't talk about stuff with your office door open. Seriously."

Her father had petitioned to legally adopt Harry. Marina didn't think her brother realised that the Ministry witch hadn't just checked on him because of occurances at Hogwarts – though that had been the cover story – but to see if Dad was taking good care of him.

Since Harry's face lit up whenever he mentioned his godfather, she'd say it was a safe bet.

* * *

 **12:15pm**

Finally, the kids had dragged themselves out of bed and downstairs. And because the adults in the house couldn't help but spoil them, Remus had promptly conjured them a late brunch.

Marina had just shook her head on her way out to practice with her Dad. He'd promised to teach her some tricks.

No one had so much as mentioned Bellatrix and Crouch all summer, and she had no problem with that. The lunatic would make herself known again soon enough.

* * *

 _ **August 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

 **9:55am**

Nobody had really moved all that much since the school owl had dropped off her package into the pancakes. Half of it were just Harry and her book lists.

But the other half was Marina's O.W.L. results. For some very weird reason, she was suddenly very nervous.

Harry was the one who finally grabbed the parchments and tore it open, silently mouthing the introduction to her results.

"... Marina Callisto Black has achieved...," he trailed off, his eyes widening comically.

Then her little brother (soon to be for real since he'd hugged the daylights out of her father about the adoption) looked up at her, mocking disgust all over his face.

"Why in Merlin's name were you worried anyway?" he asked and tossed her the results.

She looked:

 **Astronomy: → (E)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (O)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (O)**

 **Divination: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (A)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (O)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Study of Ancient Runes: → (O)**

 **Transfiguration: → (O)**

Marina heard Remus and her Dad asking but was too stunned. She'd actually done it and gotten an Outstanding in Potions. Not even Snape could stop her from becoming an auror now (unless she failed miserably at her N.E.W.T.s)... he'd be even more insufferable.

Her father impatiently snatched the results out of her hand, holding them for him and Remus to read.

"I'll floo Dromeda," Remus announced with the broadest grin she'd ever seen him wear.

"I'll take the Notts," her Dad agreed, bursting with pride.

They both came around the table to hug the breath out of her.

Harry just grinned at her helpless expression.

 _What the bloody hell just happened?_

* * *

 **Okay, so I needed to give them all a break.**

 **For all those interested, the next 'chapter' will be a list of OWLs they all got (even the older ones)... I won't list them all during the story. Those not interested, just ignore it.**

 **Thx**


	22. OWLs Info!

**Okay, so like I said: here a list of O.W.L.s:**

* * *

 **Marina:**

 **Astronomy: → (E)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (O)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (O)**

 **Divination: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (A)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (O)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Study of Ancient Runes: → (O)**

 **Transfiguration: → (O)**

* * *

 **Carmen:**

 **Arithmany: → (O)**

 **Astronomy: → (A)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (O)**

 **Charms: → (O)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (O)**

 **Herbology: → (O)**

 **History of Magic: → (A)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (E)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Study of Ancient Runes: → (E)**

 **Transfiguration: → (E)**

* * *

 **Fred:**

 **Astronomy: → (P)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (P)**

 **History of Magic: → (D)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (A)**

 **Potions: → (P)**

 **Transfiguration: → (E)**

* * *

 **George:**

 **Astronomy: → (P)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (D)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (A)**

 **Potions: → (P)**

 **Transfiguration: → (P)**

* * *

 **Angelina:**

 **Arithmancy: → (E)**

 **Astronomy: → (P)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (D)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (E)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Transfiguration: → (P)**

* * *

 **Patricia:**

 **Arithmancy: → (O)**

 **Astronomy: → (A)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (A)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (E)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Transfiguration: → (A)**

* * *

 **Percy (naturally):**

 **Arithmancy: → (O)**

 **Astronomy: → (O)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (O)**

 **Charms: → (O)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (O)**

 **Divination: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (O)**

 **History of Magic: → (O)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (O)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Study of Ancient Runes. → (O)**

 **Transfiguration: → (O)  
**

* * *

 **Charlie:**

 **Astronomy: → (P)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (O)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (P)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (A)**

 **Potions: → (E)**

 **Transfiguration: → (P)**

* * *

 **Elias:**

 **Arithmany: → (O)**

 **Astronomy: → (O)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (O)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (O)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (O)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (E)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Study of Ancient Runes: → (A)**

 **Transfiguration: → (E)  
**

* * *

 **David:**

 **Arithmany: → (A)**

 **Astronomy: → (O)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (O)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (A)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (O)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Study of Ancient Runes: → (E)**

 **Transfiguration: → (O)  
**

* * *

 **Dora (Tonks):**

 **Astronomy: → (A)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (O)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (P)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (D)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Transfiguration: → (E)**

* * *

 **Bill:**

 **Arithmancy: → (O)**

 **Astronomy: → (A)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (E)**

 **Divination: → (A)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (A)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (E)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Study of Ancient Runes: → (E)**

 **Transfiguration: → (E)  
**

* * *

 **Bianca:**

 **Arithmancy: → (O)**

 **Astronomy: → (A)**

 **Care of Magical Creatures: → (E)**

 **Charms: → (E)**

 **Defence Against the Dark Arts: → (E)**

 **Herbology: → (E)**

 **History of Magic: → (A)**

 **Muggle Studies: → (E)**

 **Potions: → (O)**

 **Transfiguration: → (E)**

* * *

 **Let's not for get I made that all up, yes? But that's my head-canon, so...**


	23. World Cup (I)

_**August 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

 **5:55am**

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Marina asked Remus worriedly.

It had been four days since the last moon and he was still using the cane.

"Yes," he replied patiently. "I'm fine, Kitten."

Harry, for his part, was still half asleep. Then again, it was an unholy hour.

But that's the price you paid if you wanted to see the Quidditch World Cup. Especially when your friend was playing, she mused. She still had to confess about that sometime soon... ish.

"I booked us a spot right next to the Weasleys," her Dad announced, not looking that much more awake.

"And Jupiter got one next to us," Marina nodded. "Hermione stays with the Weasleys, Susan with the Notts." Richard and Katherine could, obviously, not come and Amelia had to work.

"You make it sound like we might not have gotten one," Harry yawned into his cereal.

"You'll see," she smiled. "People from all around the world come to the Finale."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"The Aurors team up with the Obliviators and Arthur's office to keep the muggles at bay."

But that wasn't what he meant and Marina knew it.

"Don't worry, Harry. The place will be crawling with aurors. Bella won't risk it just to spoil the day." She sincerely hoped.

* * *

 **12:37pm**

"It's called campfire," Hermione explained as they all gathered around the bonfire she'd lit and made themselves lunch. Between the muggle-born witch, Harry and Marina they'd managed to explain to the others how to roast themselves some sausages over the open flame.

The portkey to the campsite had been hell, but that wasn't unusual. Marina couldn't wait until she got her Apparition license later this year – if she could do it without splintering herself.

Then they'd all erected their tents – and walked into apartments. Magic was a wonderful thing.

After collecting water – the muggle way for security – they'd settled down and listened to the adults do running commentary on the wizards coming and going.

Bill, Charlie, Percy, Bianca and Talib had joined them half an hour ago after apparating here.

"Marvelous," Arthur exclaimed and watched Hermione intently. There was really nothing about muggle ways that he found boring.

"Where is David?" Harry asked, chewing, and shooting a look at her. If even her fourteen year-old and ususally blissfully oblivious brother had noticed...

"On duty," she replied when no one else bothered. "He and Elias volunteered for the early double-shift so they could take time off later for the game and after."

"Do you know any of the players?" Susan asked her curiously. "Remus mentioned you did a lot of travelling – to Bulgaria too."

"Yes, actually," Marina answered with a sigh and braced herself. "But I met Viktor up in Norway, not Bulgaria." It was where the Durmstrang Institute was located, even if the rest of the wizarding world didn't know exactly where unless invited.

"Viktor?" Ron echoed promptly, awed. "You know Viktor Krum?"

"He must have been on his way home from school or something – their semester is a week longer than ours," Marina explained. "Some numb nut recognised me, thank you international press, and wanted to know what _**He**_ looked like. I was thirteen. Viktor overheard and chased the idiot off. We stayed in touch."

So much so that he'd even asked her to take part in the exchange program two years ago – but she had never had any interest in going to Durmstrang and be taught by a Death Eater. She'd cited family issues as an excuse – it had been true enough with her father's trial and everything.

"So you'll be supporting Bulgaria, I take it?" Hermione asked to fill the silence as everyone gaped at her, dumbstruck.

"Yes. Viktor really left me no choice when he introduced half the team to me last year," she said grumpily. "It was two weeks before Dad's trial. He just showed up at Dromeda's doorstep – my guess is they had a match here somewhere and he took advantage of someone _**not**_ fawning all over him."

"Except for me, of course," Carmen added sheepishly. "I was there and almost fainted."

"That was more about Vulchanov and Volkov," Marina argued. "You did get some tips from them right?

Besides, _you_ know the Irish: David went to school with Connolly and Ryan."

"It really sucks to be the youngest," Ron announced, his eyes as wide as saucers and envy clear in his eyes. Thankfully, he seemed to miss the implication that Charlie knew them too, right now.

"You're not," Bill pointed out and motioned towards Ginny and Ty, who looked equally mutinous.

"But you know all these cool people," Susan agreed with Ron, her arms crossed.

"Dumb luck," Marina replied. "Besides, when I met Viktor, he was fourteen and not yet all that famous."

"Is he really as good as they say?" Harry asked her eagerly. He'd been listening to his wireless the entire month he'd been grounded – except for their birthdays of course – and had gotten himself caught up.

"Yes," Charlie and she answered in unison.

"He really is," Bianca added. "You'll see when he's in the air."

Thankfully the anticipation for the match seemed to distract everyone from the fact that Carmen and Marina knew the players. Well, almost everyone.

"Think they'd be up for making the kids' day?" Carmen asked her quietly and it took Marina a second to understand.

"We'd never get close enough to ask," she whispered back. "No one gets anywhere near the players this close to the match. And after... well, I guess it depends on who wins."

Personally, she thought it was very presumptuous to think they'd be willing to do it, just because the girls asked.

* * *

 **7:30pm**

They'd spent the day wandering around and meeting friends.

The Hogwarts house teams were all there too, of course.

Angelina had almost strangled Marina, happy about the O.W.L.s she'd gotten and thanking her for the tutoring in D.A.D.A. and Care of Magical Creatures. Marina had tried, but failed, to point out that Angelina had not needed tutoring – just a few dozen cups of Calming Draught to get her thoughts straight.

Patricia had received her ten O.W.L.s too and she and Carmen had done the squealing-thing (very unlike her friend, usually, but she supposed the pressure had gotten to them all).

Most their friends and school-mates were Ireland supporters of course, and had covered their tents – and themselves – in green.

Harry though, impressed with the statistics, had decided over a week ago to stick with Marina, as had her Dad and Remus who really didn't care all that much.

So when they'd entered the market, the four of them had purchased Bulgarian hats and pins – though they'd each bought a shamrock-pin too (patriotism and all that).

Harry and Susan had gone and bought four omnioculars for themselves and Ron and Hermione.

Around that time, David and Elias had joined them, finally off duty. They'd been mock-outraged at her support of Bulgaria, but they were both well aware of her … friendship with Viktor. They'd helped her smuggle the letters in and out of the house after all.

* * *

 **7:50pm**

"We'll be trampled before we get up there," Hermione remarked after yet another wizard had stepped on her feet.

"Just imagine what it's like for those who _didn't_ book a spot and had to set up all the way there," Carmen said and pointed to the far end of the camping ground.

"Plus, we have a VIP box, so we don't have to fight for seats too," Marina smirked.

When Jupiter, Arthur and her Dad had started inquiring about tickets, Fudge had gotten wind of it. Still very eager to keep the wronged family Black happy, he'd secured them all their own VIP box, close to the Minister's own.

They'd all wanted to decline the special treatment at first – much to the kids' horror when they'd been told – but... Lucius Malfoy had been standing right there.

If a bloody _Death Eater_ could enjoy special treatment because he had money, then so could they.

In the end everyone had agreed that the Ministry still had a lot to make up to her father anyway. But they'd insisted on paying the first-class ticket rate, at least, if not the box.

So, yes, a VIP box. Marina wasn't sure how she felt about it still. Her and Harry's faces were all over the press all the time anyway – and VIP guests always ended up in the _Prophet_. Suddenly she was glad Molly and Laura had stayed home (neither one was much of a fan).

Everyone was engaged in busy chatter about how the game would turn out – Ron was adamant that Viktor would catch the Snitch, but Ireland would win. Harry disagreed, since the Bulgarian Beaters had been a whole lot better than last season – maybe getting him that wireless had been a mistake.

* * *

 **9:30pm**

Their seats were amazing and Marina decided that she officially didn't care who saw them up there. She had to swallow her laughter when the boys almost jumped down into the stadium when the Veela gave their performance – the men had covered their ears in time. The girls just shook their heads, exasperated.

After the Leprechauns had rained down their fake gold on everyone, the match was on.

The Bulgarian Beaters had gotten a lot better – but the Chasers didn't quite equal their Irish counterparts. Still, they tried, until the score was _Ireland 80:50 Bulgaria_.

That was when Viktor pulled his first Wronski Feint, leading Lynch to crash into the ground at high speed.

Harry was duly impressed and replayed it at least four times.

Motivated by their Seeker's move, the Bulgarians got a new lease of life, it seemed, and scored four times in a row.

The tension was high as Bulgaria was in the lead for the first time, an hour into the game.

But the Irish would not be so easily defeated and levelled the score within minutes.

Suddenly, Viktor wrenched his broomstick around, shooting through the air faster than before.

"He saw it!" Ty exclaimed exitedly.

"No, he didn't!" Harry yelled over the cheers. "It's another Feint."

And of course their very own Seeker had it right. Lynch, wrongfully assuming Viktor had really seen the Snitch this time, followed after his opponent – and crashed again.

"Why would he fall for it again?" David asked next to her and she grinned at the disgruntled tone.

"He must not have expected it twice in a row," she answered without looking away from the pitch.

Unfortunately, the time it took the mediwitches to patch up Lynch didn't just give Viktor a chance to look for the Snitch undisturbed. It gave the Irish a chance to regroup.

Once Lynch was back in the air, there was no stopping them. The even score was left in the wind as the Irish Chasers gave the performance of their lives.

No matter what the Bulgarians tried – and their Keeper was good – they just couldn't prevent them from scoring.

Another hour later the score read **210:120** for the Irish. There was no way for Bulgaria to catch up now, unless a miracle happened and fast. Namely Viktor catching that Snitch.

But apparently, it remained elusive. While Viktor circled above the others like a hawk, the Irish Chasers continued their A-game until the score was **280:120**. Even the Snitch couldn't save the Bulgarians now, unless their Chasers stepped up.

"It's over," Charlie shook his head, grinning broadly under his Irish colours. "They can't catch up now."

"I agree," Carmen nodded. "The Bulgarian Chasers just aren't fast enough."

"And the Irish Keeper is too good," Harry added.

"Krum will end it," Ron nodded eagerly – ready to be proven right probably.

At this point Marina agreed with him. The Irish were just too good, and catching the Snitch would be the only way to end this on a dignified note for Bulgaria.

"Think he'll put them out of their misery, Kitten?" her Dad asked her from behind them. "You're the expert."

"Hardly," she snorted, eyes focused on the Seekers. "But he will try. Save the Bulgarians' honor and all that." But he would hate it. It was his life's goal to win the World Cup.

"He saw it!" Harry suddenly yelled and jumped up, grabbing Marina's arm to pull her up with him.

Lynch was speeding across the pitch in a speed he shouldn't have been capable of anymore after his two crashes.

"Is it his turn for a Feint?" Susan asked, the omniocular pressed to her eyes tightly.

"No, he sees it," Charlie said.

"He has no reason to risk a Feint either," Carmen agreed, fidgeting exitedly. "They're winning."

But they would not catch the Snitch, Marina thought, as she watched Viktor follow his rival. He had the faster broomstick and better skill than Lynch – he wasn't the world's best Seeker for nothing.

He caught up and they sped after the tiny ball next to each other, before Viktor flattened a bit more and passed Lynch until -

"HE'S GOT IT!" Ron yelled, as if anyone could have missed it. "KRUM HAS THE SNITCH!"

* * *

 **11:49pm**

And so Ireland had won. Marina cheered along with everyone else – what else was one to do? But she kept her eyes on Viktor – who looked even grumpier than usual. She'd just have to write to him tomorrow.

Then the players dragged themselves up the stairs of the stadium and into the Minister's box to shake a lot of people's hands. She was sure the Bulgarians would have loved to skip that part and sulk, while the Irish looked giddy with happiness. _Felt like it too_.

While his teammates dragged a still dazed Lynch through the various officials, the Bulgarians stood aside, taking their loss with grace. When their names were announced one by one, the audience clapped politely.

But when Bagman said 'Krum', the stadium exploded with everyone screaming themselves hoarse for the Seeker.

That was when Viktor looked up and saw her.

He blinked, as if unsure he was seeing right, taking in her Bulgarian colours. Marina smiled a little and put a hand over her heart, tapping lightly – a gesture of sympathy understood just about anywhere.

Harry stood frozen next to her – which must have looked ridiculous since he'd grown over her head by now – and watched the exchange. The rest of their box was clapping for the Irish but were otherwise silent.

Viktor took in her company before looking at her again – then he turned to talk to his teammates. Probably because they'd pulled at his robes curiously.

Of course, then the Irish were announced and Marina thought that everybody's hands must have been going numb by now from all the clapping.

When the two Beaters helped Lynch raise the World Cup, no anti-muggle charm could have possibly muffled the audience' roar.

* * *

 **0:27am**

All the spectators were leaving the stadium, headed for their tents. It would be a long time before anyone would get any sleep tonight.

The kids were still discussing the match in detail when someone approached Marina from the side. Everyone had their wands out in a blink but she held up a hand.

"I know him," she said and accepted the piece of parchment the wizard handed her with a bow.

She opened it with an inkling of who had sent it.

 _Sank you, my vriend. Zee you zoon_ , it said and a conjured lily-of-the-valley blossom had been put on it. So he'd be coming.

"His English is still appalling," Marina mumbled and handed the letter to David before their collective concern could make her dizzy.

"Krum?" David asked perfectly calm, but he was feeling anything but. His jealousy was churning her insides – or his, more like.

Marina raised her eyebrows at him. By now he had all but mastered the skill to suppress his emotions around her enough so she wouldn't have to feel them.

Which meant he'd _**wanted**_ her to sense it.

"Yes," she answered belatedly when her father grabbed the letter. Harry leaned in to read it too.

"What does he mean, see you soon?" her brother asked.

"You'll find out soon," Carmen replied and looked from her brother to Marina and back. Obviously realising that _something_ was up, she ushered the others along.

Wizards and witches moved past them, deep in conversation and ignorant of the two of them standing in the middle of the path.

"What exactly was that?" she asked him finally. "If it was possible could feel something aimed at someone, I would say you just did it."

"Sirius and I had a chat after the fight at the castle," David said without answering her. "Oh, and Harry too."

Marina tried to picture those three of all people together. The only time they could have talked, she concluded, was when she'd been in the infirmary.

"About what?" she asked, figuring he had a point to make somewhere.

"You, obviously," he replied. "About the Empathy and how it was possible for you to miss some things. Harry had an idea or two."

Oh dear Merlin. Marina had explained to her brother about how her ability worked – and sometimes didn't.

"I don't miss things," she said, ignoring the somersaults her stomach was making. "I just sometimes... misinterpret."

David nodded as if that was making perfect sense.

And Marina realised just what kind of chat those three must have had. Her Dad had given him the speech. The _don't-hurt-her-_ _ **or-else**_ speech.

"Well, you couldn't misinterpret that, could you?" David asked noncholantly, referring to earlier.

She had known this was coming on some level, but she still blinked, caught off guard.

"Why now?" she asked, hardly believing it yet. But she couldn't help but hope.

"You're going back to Hogwarts soon," he shrugged and came a step closer, in her personal space about now. "And I didn't want to lose my chance, like my idiot best friend will be doing soon. I figured you wouldn't wait forever."

She couldn't believe she was about to say something so cliché but-

"You were wrong."

David, sensing hopeful himself, finally dropped the letter and took the last step, standing barely six inches from her.

He cupped her nape with his left hand, tilting her head up, and started to lean in slowly.

Marina knew he was giving her a chance to pull away. Instead, she closed those few inches and held onto his shoulders.

She closed her eyes –

– and heard the distinctive _**snap**_ of a camera.

David almost automatically turned a little, shielding her.

Not that she was the one who needed shielding.

Rita Skeeter was.


	24. World Cup (II)

**Carmen POV** [ **;-)** ]

"Think they'll finally figure it out?" Elias asked her as they hurried back to the tents, leaving her brother and best friend alone.

"Merlin, I hope so. … Not like we're ones to throw stones." she retorted quietly.

She'd never denied her feelings for her big brother's best friend – which said it all, really. Marina had never commented; right up until a week ago, when she'd told Carmen that their song-and-dance was giving her a migraine.

There had been times when she'd been half-convinced that maybe it was just one-way. But her best friend the empath had replied if she'd lost her mind. And it didn't take Empathy, everyone could see it.

Elias hesitated a few seconds.

"Between work, the families – not to mention the press … we were never alone," he said quietly, mindful of the company they had, and took her hand.

Carmen forced herself not to smile.

"And we need to be alone to talk?" she questioned – pretty sure Marina would be laughing her butt off at the innocent act.

"Not to talk, no," he replied and lightly pulled at her hand, until there was barely an inch between them. "But I was hoping afterwards."

She snapped her head up to look at him, unable to stop the blush. He was looking ahead but smiling.

There was still one thing though...

"What about David?" she asked gently. The last thing she wanted was for those two to fight. Elias was the only one she could trust to keep her brother alive on duty – and vice versa.

"He gave me permission at Bianca's wedding."

Something about his tone told her that it had been less of permission and more of a warning.

"That was over a month ago," she huffed. Her biggest reason for not talking to him herself, and it had been mute for six weeks.

Elias slung an arm around her and pulled her into him.

Granted, she thought, those two idiots had been so wrapped up in the preparations for the World Cup, they'd barely had a day off at all. That was the reason why they had three vacation days now.

"Look on your desk when you get home," Elias told her quietly, lightly caressing her arm.

Before she could ask just what he was going on about, Marina and David caught up with them.

And her best friend's face was as scarlet red as her Gryffindor ties.

David seemed to have his arm around her not just because he liked doing it – a lot – but to try and keep his girlfriend ( _ **please,**_ _let her be his girlfriend_ ) calm. Trying and failing.

"Kitten?" Sirius asked carefully. "What-?"

Seeing her father just seemed to make it worse, because Marina groaned and buried her face in David's chest – which was cause for celebration as far as Carmen was concerned.

But her brother didn't look much happier than her friend.

"Skeeter caught us," was all he offered as an explanation, but it was enough.

That reporter had been the bane of Marina's existence from the very first article when she'd named her The Girl Who Saw. Her subsequent 'reports' about Bellatrix and their family relation hadn't helped.

"So we can expect a rather scathing article soon?" Remus asked mildly.

"I'd be surprised if she mentions the Cup at all," Marina grumbled and looked up. "She was all but bursting with glee."

"Well, I suppose we don't have to ask how your talk went then," Bianca said jokingly.

"Not at all," Marina agreed grimly. "You can read it in tomorrow's _Prophet_."

"I'm surprised you didn't hex her," Carmen said dryly.

"Oh, I would have," she retorted. "But your brother here still has his common sense and figured that wouldn't go over so well."

They'd been standing there for at least three minutes and Marina hadn't moved out of her brother's arm. She was doing a happy dance inwardly.

* * *

There was no point in talking about it, since it was already over and done. Skeeter was going to write whatever she wanted.

All of them settled in front of their tents and grilled some marshmallows – after Hermione had explained to them how to do it.

Marina had noticed the grins everybody had shot each other when she'd sat down next to David. They were worse than teenagers sometimes; subtlety was not their strength.

But she couldn't help but grin a little too, when Elias pulled Carmen down next to him, despite the fact that Jupiter was right there. David might have given his blessing, but the fatherly warning was still on the horizon.

She wondered how long it would take the kids to crash – they'd all been up since five in the morning.

* * *

 **3:00am**

They'd barely laid down ten minutes ago when Marina woke up again.

Her hands were shaking and she was ice-cold. She hadn't felt fear like that in... ever.

Probably because it wasn't her own or even just one person's. The emotion was pressing down on her and she choked, gasping for air.

Something was very wrong.

Marina had barely grabbed her wand when David entered their tent; one look at his face and she knew they were in trouble.

"Death Eaters," he bit out, anger choking him as much as the collective fear did her.

"Wake Dad and Remus," she told him and went to wake Harry.

 _How in Merlin's name had they slept through the screams?_

As soon as her brother was on his feet, sort of, she waved her wand and transfigured his socks into shoes and his pjs into jeans and a jacket. There was no time to get dressed.

Once everybody was awake they went outside and assembled with the others. Marina waved her wand a few times again to transfigure the girls' and Ron's clothes.

The sight that greeted them was terrifying:

Half the camp-ground was already on fire and people were screaming in fear everywhere. Those who weren't frozen on the spot in terror were runing away.

And above the scared crowd was a family, floating and screaming for help.

"Muggle-sport," Carmen whispered, horrified. It was the term Death Eaters used for torturing muggles.

The masked cowards spinned the muggles in circles and had them float upside down. The kids' heads were being craned harshly, the little girl crying in pain.

"That's sick," Ron mumbled, green-faced and disgusted.

"Go back to the portkey site," her father growled, the anger making his face look so harsh it would scare anyone who didn't know him.

"Stay together and don't stop for anything," Remus added.

"Fred, George: Ginny and Tyler are your responsibility," Arthur said sternly. The twins nodded, too appalled to speak.

"Don't bother, Dad," Carmen said sharply when Jupiter looked at her and Marina. "We're not running."

"Harry, whatever happens, stick with the others," she told her brother. "They're not here for you, but it would be rather convenient."

Harry nodded, his eyes still tansfixed on the muggles, and stepped closer to Ron, Hermione and Susan. They all had their wands out already.

As soon as the kids and twins started running the other direction, the rest of them moved to stop the Death Eaters.

* * *

It was just about impossible to get through the crowd.

She wondered what it was about catastrophes that had people stop and gawk.

Their group and the aurors they'd teamed up with had no choice but to blast their way through the spectators.

"Bloody cowards planned well," Amelia Bones muttered angrily. "We can't take them all at once yet. But if we don't they'll kill the muggles."

"How far out are the rest of your men?" Jupiter asked. They all kept their wands aimed firmly at the Death Eaters.

"I'd give it another two minutes, tops," Amelia replied. "Question is, do we have two minutes?"

As it turned out, no they didn't.

When the first of the masked men cast the Cruciatus on the poor muggle woman, none of them even hesitated.

Having cross-fire duels with muggles floating overhead was definitely the most insane thing they'd ever done. The only upside was that the Death Eaters were too busy fighting them to kill the muggles.

Carmen, Bianca and Talib made sure to keep the family floating as long as the fight raged.

Just when Amelia's men arrived, it happened.

Marina gasped in surprised pain when, for the first time in over two years, her scar burned as harshly as when she'd been hit with the curse. Her father blocked the curse aimed at her.

Suddenly, the night sky lit up bright green as a spell-flash shot upwards.

When the Dark Mark formed for the first time in thirteen years, Marina barely registered the frightened screams before she fainted.

* * *

 **3:40am**

She couldn't have been out for long since the aurors were still lowering the muggle family to the ground.

"You okay?" Remus asked her, helping her up.

"Humiliated," she replied grimly. "But yes. The collective shock knocked me out. Even the Death Eaters were out of their minds with fear."

"Cowards took off as soon as they saw it," Elias confirmed, an arm around Carmen.

"Where is Dad?" Marina asked when she couldn't find him in the crowd of people around them.

"Him, Arthur, Amelia and Dad went looking for the kids," David answered her and hugged her with his free arm.

 _Amelia... Merlin..._ The woman had lost both her brothers and just about everyone else to the Death Eaters last time. Susan was the only family she had left.

"Let's go," she said grimly and David and she took off to find them.

* * *

It took them barely five minutes – the kids hadn't gotten very far into the forest.

Marina was shocked at what they found: a bunch of aurors and other officials were standing in a lose circle around the four worried-sick kids – _with their wands pointed at them_. Jupiter, Amelia, Arthur and her Dad looked none too pleased.

"What the bloody hell?" she asked sharply.

"They were just accusing us of _**that**_ ," Susan told her and pointed towards the Dark Mark.

"You were found at the scene of the crime," one of the wizards said.

"You do realise just who the hell you're talking to, right?" Marina snapped, strung too tight to care how she sounded. "Susan **_Bones_**... _**Harry Potter**_ casting the Dark Mark?"

Most of them had the decency to shift restlessly. But not all.

"That does not prove anything," the one right in front of Harry said and turned slightly to glare at her. That's when she recognised him.

It certainly explained why her father wasn't moving a muscle.

David must have known the explosion was coming and tried to hold her back. But not only was she on general emotional overload and _exhausted_ , she was furious herself.

"Get away from my brother," she hissed – some of the wizards took a startled step back. "You have done by far enough damage to my family, Crouch."

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, girl."

David managed to grab and push down her right arm just in time, before she could point her wand at the moron. Nobody missed the movement.

"I understand just fine," she snapped. "You were so busy trying to become Minister of Magic and locking up innocent people that you missed your own son was a Death Eater.

Your judgement isn't exactly infallible, so _get away from my brother_."

Apparently, even someone like Crouch had a breaking point; and she'd just pushed it.

He whirled on his heels, wand up and pointed at her.

David was next to her in a heartbeat, his own wand up – ready to defend her even against the likes of someone like Crouch.

Not that he had to.

Her father was in front of her, wand drawn, so fast she wondered if he'd apparated the few feet.

"Don't even think about it, Crouch," he growled and didn't even bother to dial down the anger. "You so much as look at my daughter wrong, and I'll call Justice."

Everybody drew startled breaths and froze – except Amelia, who looked oddly... smug.

Her father had just reminded everyone of an ancient tradition. Nobody had used it in centuries, but it was still the law. And technically, his wrongful imprisonment alone would have given him the grounds to call Justice.

Basically, the spell involved brought down Judgement Day on the parties involved – that's why it had to be cast by the entire Wizengamot or even more wizards. The ancient magic would judge both participents while they duelled.

Crouch had sent her innocent father to prison for twelve years, whereas her Dad had just tried to protect the people he'd loved the most. That alone would have been enough for Justice to rule in her Dad's favour and strike Crouch down during the duel.

Sending his own son to Azkaban, instead of letting someone else handle that trial, would be a death sentence under Justice Magic.

Plus, her Dad was just reckless enough to risk it either way.

Marina saw Susan whispering to the others and assumed she was explaining what her father had just brought up. Even Ron wouldn't know about it.

Crouch must have understood what would happen if he pushed her father that far. He lowered his wand and took half a dozen steps away from Harry – who glared at Crouch just as angrily.

Marina stepped past her father, who was still glowering at Crouch, and hugged Harry briefly.

"What happened?" she asked and took a step back. The boys were tall enough for her to have to look up a little now.

"We took off like you said," Hermione said quietly. "We were separated from the others. And just when we were about to go look for them..."

The girl's somewhat helpless gaze went upwards to the Dark Mark.

"Any idea who cast it?" she asked, looking up herself.

"Well, there was... are you okay?" Harry asked her, concerned. She looked back down and saw him looking at her left hand – which was rubbing her hip absentmindedly.

"Just my scar, I'm fine. There was what?"

"A man. Over there," Ron answered and pointed behind the Ministry wizards.

David went to investigate, in spite of the dozen people who could have done it instead. Marina bit her tongue; he was an auror, this was what he did. She'd just have to get used to it.

It only took him about a minute, rifling through the gras, before he came back out.

With Bellatrix' wand.

"Why in the name of Merlin would she give up her wand?" Jupiter asked, clearly confused.

"She wouldn't," her Dad shook his head. "The caster must have stolen it."

"She'd give it up following orders," Marina said quietly and the two men stilled.

There was nothing Bellatrix wouldn't do for her Lord and Master.

"To what end?" Arthur questioned as David cast the Prior Incantatem.

Marina didn't fail to notice that all the others were oddly silent for being Ministry officials.

The crooked wand lit up and a weak echo of the Dark Mark in the sky suddenly hovered over it.

"Sending a message," her father said quietly and looked up. "There is only one wizard who could make her give up her wand. She just let everyone know that she found him."

* * *

Nobody seemed to so much as breathe after that cheery thought. David ended the spell.

"That still doesn't tell us who cast it," a witch in a lose robe mumbled.

"Oh, I think it does," David contradicted and Marina looked up, shocked. His voice was hard like granite.

"Given who we know she was with last," he added and tossed Crouch the wand.

Then Marina remembered: Crouch had been one of the, very few, people who'd accused Jupiter of being a Death Eater like his brother last time, despite his status as a **'** blood-traitor **'**.

"Well, we'll take the kids now," Amelia announced into the silence – and her tone brooked no argument. "We still have to find the others."

No one dared protest.

* * *

 **4:20am**

"Thank you for not letting me hex him," she told David quietly as they made their way back to the tents.

Her father had his arms around Harry and Hermione, walking up front. Jupiter, Amelia and Susan and Arthur and Ron followed. She and David had fallen in last.

"I was surprised you didn't do it anyway," he replied and wrapped an arm around her waist, lightly massaging her hip with his hand; as if he knew the damn scar still hurt.

"If Dad hadn't gotten in between, I would have," she grumbled. "Which would have cost me any chance of ever becoming an auror, so..."

"You'll make a good one," David said, despite the sudden rush of fear he couldn't hide.

"Now you know how I feel," she said gently and leaned on him. "We'll just have to deal with it."

"I've never had to worry before," he admitted ruefully. "Dad's job is important but not dangerous. Bianca will teach, Carmen wants to be a Healer..."

"And along comes me and changes the game."

"Well, I still have two years to get used to the thought," he said to lighten the mood.

"Planning to stick around that long, are you?" she teased.

David saw right through her of course. He pulled her to a halt and tilted her head up to look at him.

"Longer than that, if you'll have me," he said solemnly and pushed a strand of her out of her face.

This time, he didn't give her a chance to back out – as if she would – and kissed her.

Her skin tingled everywhere they touched, even through the robes, and her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. She wound her arms around him when he pulled her completely against him and deepened their kiss.

And for the first time in years, she didn't feel anything but her own fluttering emotions.

For the first time in years, she didn't feel anything but his arms around her.

* * *

x

* * *

x

* * *

 **Did I mention that I _really_ didn't like Crouch?**


	25. Arrival

" _A thousand years or more ago  
When I was newly sewn,  
There lived four wizards of renown,  
Whose names are still well known:_

 _Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,_  
 _Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_  
 _Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,_  
 _Shrewd Slytherin, from fen._

 _They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,_  
 _They hatched a daring plan_  
 _To educate young sorcerers_  
 _Thus Hogwarts School began._

 _Now each of these four founders_  
 _Formed their own house, for each_  
 _Did value different virtues_  
 _In the ones they had to teach._

 _By Gryffindor, the bravest were_  
 _Prized far beyond the rest;_  
 _For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_  
 _Would always be the best;_

 _For Hufflepuff, hard workers were_  
 _Most worthy of admission;_  
 _And power-hungry Slytherin_  
 _Loved those of great ambition._

 _While still alive they did divide_  
 _Their favourites from the throng,_  
 _Yet how to pick the worthy ones_  
 _When they were dead and gone?_

 _Twas Gryffindor who found the way,_  
 _He whipped me off his head_  
 _The founders put some brains in me_  
 _So I could choose instead!_

 _Now slip me snug about your ears,_  
 _I've never yet been wrong,_  
 _I'll have a look inside your mind_  
 _And tell where you belong!_ "

The Sorting Ceremony was tradition, but also very tedious. Marina decided to instead focus on her new schedule. She had dropped Astronomy and History of Magic. And Dumbledore had agreed, per owl, to let her and Carmen – and whoever else was was interested – have the same deal as last year; they could take only one extra class (Runes or Muggle Studies) but take both N.E.W.T.s at the end of their seventh year.

* * *

 **Monday:**

Morning Period: free

1st Period: Care of Magical Creatures, Prof. Hagrid

2nd Period: Divination, Prof. Trelawney / Arithmancy, Prof. Vector

3rd Period: Transfiguration, Prof. McGonagall

Lunch

4th Period: Defence Against the Dark Arts, Prof. Moody

5th Period: Defence Against the Dark Arts, Prof. Moody

Afternoon Period: free

Frog Choir

 **Tuesday:**

Morning Period: Care of Magical Creatures, Prof. Hagrid

1st Period: free

2nd Period: Charms, Prof. Flitwick

3rd Period: Charms, Prof. Flitwick

Lunch

4th Period: free

5th Period: Potions, Prof. Snape

Afternoon Period: Potions, Prof. Snape

 **Wednesday:**

Morning Period: free

1st Period: Divination, Prof. Trelawney / Arithmancy, Prof. Vector

2nd Period: free

3rd Period: Ancient Runes, Prof. Babbling / Muggle Studies, Prof. Burbage

Lunch

4th Period: Transfiguration, Prof. McGonagall

5th Period: Transfiguration, Prof. McGonagall

Afternoon Period: Herbology, Prof. Sprout

 **Thursday:**

Morning Period: free

1st Period: Defence Against the Dark Arts, Prof. Moody

2nd Period: Charms, Prof. Flitwick

3rd Period: Potions, Prof. Snape

Lunch

4th Period: free

5th Period: Care of Magical Creatures, Prof. Hagrid

Afternoon Period: Care of Magical Creatures, Prof. Hagrid

Frog Choir

 **Friday:**

Morning Period: Herbology, Prof. Sprout

1st Period: Herbology, Prof. Sprout

2nd Period: Transfiguration, Prof. McGonagall

3rd Period: Ancient Runes, Prof. Babbling / Muggle Studies, Prof. Burbage

Lunch

4th Period: Defence Against the Dark Arts, Prof. Moody

5th Period: Apparition Training

Afternoon Period: Apparition Training

* * *

Marina almost choked on her orange juice.

There was only one Moody she could think of who had the qualifications to teach DADA and who Dumbledore would ask. He really must not have been able to get anyone else.

"What is it?" Harry asked across from her. She wordlessly showed him her schedule.

It took him a moment to realise what she meant – he had barely listened when they'd spoken about Mad-Eye at all, so he couldn't understand just how crazy this was.

Mad-Eye was, in general, not good with kids.

She was so preoccupied with the social disaster about to happen this year, she only snapped out of it at Mad-Eye's rather dramatic entrance.

The entire Great Hall was gaping at him in shock as he slowly made his way up front. Given the enchanted ceiling, and the weather outside, the lighting made his profile stand out strongly.

Marina tried to imagine what he must have looked like to the other students.

His entire face was basically one big mess of scars, minus a chunk of his nose. And then there were his eyes, after all. One was his natural, small brown eye – maybe a little beady. But the other was the magical eye he'd received after a Death Eater had cost him his own; it was bright blue and spinning endlessly in the socket – watching could make you dizzy. Every step was audible, due to a loud clonk because of the metal leg.

All in all, she supposed, he looked rather terrifying. She couldn't blame the others for staring at him like they'd spotted a miniature troll.

When he reached Dumbledore, his eye rolled over and Marina knew he was looking through the back of his head. It was creepy, to say the least.

Her friends weren't all that discomforted – but Harry and his friends stared every bit as much as the others. Mad-Eye had agreed to tutor Harry during the next holidays, but they hadn't actually met yet.

"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore said brightly. "Professor Moody."

Not even the other teachers applauded, too transfixed by Mad-Eye who had taken out his own pocket knife to eat. He didn't seem to mind the stares. As they all watched, he pulled out his flask and took a gulp – he never drank anything offered to him by someone else (paranoia at a whole new level).

Dumbledore reclaimed everybody's attention, smiling in understanding.

"As I was saying, we are to have the honour of hosting a very exiting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

That caused a very loud round of exited whispers, and even the twins quickly forgot their mood over not being able to play Quidditch.

Everyone listened very closely as Dumbledore explained just what the Tournament was, but Marina kept looking at Mad-Eye. And here she'd thought last year had been a shock, what with Remus taking the job without telling her – but this was even worse. She hadn't felt quite so gobsmacked in a while now.

"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrag will be arriving with their contenders in October, and the selection of the three Champions will take place at Hallowe'en. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand galleons personal prize money."

Marina was not at all surprised to hear many of the students around her announce their intention to compete; including Fred Weasley. She hoped Dumbledore had braced himself for their reaction at the second part of his announcement.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts,-" he said, "-the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age will be allowed to compete. This is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them."

As predicted, everyone under seventeen yelled in protest – whatever for, she didn't know. The decision had been made months ago, which was why only students of age from the other schools would arrive.

When Dumbledore sent them off to bed, Marina left it to the new fifth-year Prefects to rally the first-years and show them the way; sixth-years were always on late-night patrol and detention duty.

"Did you know?" Carmen asked her at the door. Trish and Samantha were with her, discussing the Ravenclaw class schedule. Angelina and Katie stood behind Marina, also – curious, she imagined.

"Not a clue," she shook her head, waving back at Harry who was leaving the Hall with his friends.

"This will be interesting, won't it?" Carmen mused, looking up at the teacher table.

"He'll probably scare the first-years half to death," she replied dryly. "Mad-Eye was a great auror, but we both know his people skills leave something to be desired."

As if he'd heard her – which even he couldn't have – the grouch's magical eye settled on her.

"But at least they'll learn something," Carmen argued mildly.

"That's for sure," she agreed. "I wonder how long it'll take them to figure out that he can see through solid objects."

"Took us long enough."

"We were seven," she replied. "Let's get out of here. He'll berate me for not wearing my wand in the sheath he gave me soon enough."

* * *

 _ **Breakfast, the next day...**_

The fourth-years had just gotten their new schedules and were going over them – instead of eating. She was just about to ask why Hermione looked positively peeved, when Harry gave her their schedule.

 **Monday:**

Morning Period: Herbology, Prof Sprout

1st Period: Herbology, Prof. Sprout

2nd Period: Care of Magical Creatures, Prof. Hagrid

3rd Period: Care of Magical Creatures, Prof. Hagrid

Lunch

4th Period: Arithmancy, Prof. Vector

5th Period: Arithmancy, Prof. Vector

Afternoon Period: Astronomy, Prof. Sinistra

 **Tuesday:**

Morning Period: History of Magic, Prof. Binns

1st Period: History of Magic, Prof. Binns

2nd Period: Ancient Runes, Prof. Babbling / Muggle Studies, Prof. Burbage

3rd Period: Potions, Prof. Snape

Lunch

4th Period: Transfiguration, Prof. McGonagall

5th Period: Transfiguration, Prof. McGonagall

Afternoon Period: Defence Against the Dark Arts, Prof. Moody

 **Wednesday:**

Morning Period: Charms, Prof. Flitwick

1st Period: Charms, Prof. Flitwick

2nd Period: free

3rd Period: Arithmancy, Prof. Vector

Lunch

4th Period: Herbology, Prof. Sprout

5th Period: Herbology, Prof. Sprout

Afternoon Period: Care of Magical Creatures, Prof. Hagrid

 **Thursday:**

Morning Period: Transfiguration, Prof. McGonagall

1st Period: free

2nd Period: Ancient Runes, Prof. Babbling / Muggle Studies, Prof. Burbage

3rd Period: Ancient Runes, Prof. Babbling / Muggle Studies, Prof. Burbage

Lunch

4th Period: Defence Against the Dark Arts, Prof. Moody

5th Period: Defence Against the Dark Arts, Prof. Moody

Afternoon Period: Astronomy, Prof. Sinistra

 **Friday:**

Morning Period: History of Magic, Prof. Binns

1st Period: Care of Magical Creatures, Prof. Hagrid

2nd Period: free

3rd Period: Charms, Prof. Flitwick

Lunch

4th Period: Potions, Prof. Snape

5th Period: Potions, Prof. Snape

Afternoon Period: free

* * *

"Well... looks like you have a busy year," Marina said cheerily, mentally commiserating. They had a lot of classes with Slytherin.

"At least I don't have to sit through Double Divination," Harry shrugged and dug into his toast.

"Do yourselves a favour," she advised gently. "Use all your free periods to study. You have your O.W.L.s next year and, trust me, you'll be grateful for everything you don't have to catch up on."

"Bill said the same," Ron chimed in, munching his breakfast.

"Figures. And your brother is one of the few students who actually got twelve O.W.L.s. So listen to him, will you?"

Though she highly suspected nobody was going to get any studying done at all once the Tournament started.

"Did you know?" Hermione suddenly asked and stared at Marina moodily.

"That's rather vague," she replied, surprised at the amount of anger she sensed.

"Did you know Hogwarts functions on _slave labour_?"

Harry and Ron pointedly looked back down at their breakfast.

"House-elves aren't slaves, Hermione," she sighed. "They're house-elves. And did you ever talk to one of the kitchen elves? They love it here."

But of course Marina knew where the girl was coming from – she'd reacted similarly when she'd inherited Grimmauld Place and realised she'd now owned an elf. She would have freed him, but he knew too many dark secrets – and would probably have given himself a heart attack over being cut lose from the House of Black.

"Dobby thinks they are!" she disagreed vehemently. Marina snorted.

"He had Lucius for a master, of course he does. There are _very_ few wizards and witches who treat elves like that."

Hermione harrumphed and proceeded to shovel food.

* * *

 _ **End of Fifth Period**_

"You couldn't have let me know?" Marina asked Mad-Eye after class, with a strong sense of déja-vu. She'd asked Remus exactly the same.

"Why should I have?" he asked gruffly. Typical Mad-Eye.

"So I wouldn't sit there, gaping like the rest of them?" she replied ironically. "You almost gave the entire hall an apoplexy, you know. Why were you late anyway?"

"Checked on the wards," he answered as if it was perfectly normal. Then again, for him it was.

"Only you, Mad-Eye," she shook her head, exasperated. "So I take it you wanted to talk about the fact that I'm too advanced for your curriculum this year."

"You and a few other six-years," he agreed grumpily. "Think you can play nice with Slytherins long enough to take an extra class?"

"If you can find a period we all have off, sure," she sighed. "How many are there?"

"You, Nott, Stimpson, Wood, Johnson – thanks to you, I heard."

"Ange is this good all on her own," she disagreed. "And there was not a single Slytherin in that list. Jolene Wood is a Hufflepuff." And Oliver's little sister.

"Rookwood." The Death Eater's poor, innocent kid. Her father had killed the girl's own mother when she'd found out who and what he really was.

"Okay, how come it's just girls?" Mad-Eye snorted in response.

"Because lads are too lazy to do extra work."

"Clearly you've never met Percy Weasley."

She could all but see the retort he was going to make form in his head, when suddenly his magical eye swirled to the side and stayed there – looking outside the room.

"Trouble?" she asked, unconcerned. Kids fighting wasn't news around the castle.

"Not for long," she growled and limped out of the room.

Marina sighed, fingering her necklace. This year was going to be exhausting.

* * *

 _ **Saturday**_

"He did _what_?" Marina all but shrieked, shocked. Her entire week had been swamped.

Between classes, tutoring the first-years in Transfiguration (yes, she'd agreed to that _again_ ), her extra lessons with the other advanced students, Frog Choir... she hadn't been keeping an eye on things. Or on Mad-Eye's class.

"He demonstrated," Hermione replied calmly, but outraged.

"The Unforgivables. To a class of fourteen year-olds."

"On spiders," Susan offered helpfully, pouring Hermione juice. The Hufflepuff had become Hermione's best friend so quickly it was astounding, given how different they were. But they shared their love of studying – and their unwavering loyalty to the boys.

"Neville is a wreck," Hermione continued, righteously angry.

"Harry looked like a statue," Susan added and set down the pitcher a bit forcefully.

"He... he showed you the Killing Curse?" Marina whispered, completely horrified.

"And pointed out that only one ever survived it; staring at Harry."

Marina pressed her eyes shut, mentally swearing. She should have known he'd do something like that. Had he not used the Imperius on her and Carmen only last year? So they'd know how to fight it?

 _Oh dear Merlin..._ He wouldn't, right? On fourteen year-olds?

"Can you talk to him?" Susan asked her and pushed the book Hermione was reading towards the latter, trying to get her focused on something less disturbing.

"No," Marina sighed. "I can't talk to him like I would at home. He's a professor now."

"They're illegal for a reason!"

"True. But if Dumbledore is really on board with this, the Ministry won't be able to do anything." _In other words, don't tell your aunt._

* * *

Marina didn't actually get to talk to Harry until the next day. Neither one of them was in a particularly good mood: Hedwig had brought mail the night before...

" _Kitten,_

 _we have a lead on Bellatrix. An entire Hit Wizard Squad is going. Don't worry too much._

 _If I'm not back by Monday, you'll have to keep Moony company on your own._

 _Love,_

 _Dad_ "

Harry's had read pretty much the same – except they hadn't come up with a Marauder nickame for him yet.

Then the Nott family owl had dropped in too, making it even worse.

" _Marina, love,_

 _I'm not supposed to tell you this, but I won't be able to answer any letters for a while._

 _I'm on a team going after Bellatrix – so is Elias; please tell my sister._

 _Don't worry about us, we'll be fine._

 _Yours Always,_

 _David_ "

Was it really any wonder she had no nerves left?

* * *

 _ **October 7**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

"McGonagall said we're done with animagus training," Harry told her exitedly and she smiled.

The four of them had taken to training quickly and were naturals. She'd more than once spotted Ron and Susan run up some trees. Harry flew around when he needed peace and quiet to think, and Hermione had noticed that her brain worked even better after some prowling on four legs.

Marina knew what her brother was about to ask.

"Can I come with you on the next moon?" Harry asked and looked at her imploringly. He'd been talking about joining Remus for months now.

"Sure thing. As long as _you_ tell him. He still doesn't know." She and her father had both chickened out.

Using McGonagall's floo to get home every month was so against the rules she was surprised Dumbledore had gone for it. But she wouldn't complain.

 _ **October 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

"Still no word from Sirius?" Carmen asked Marina as she accompanied her to McGonagall's office. It was five o'clock and all their classes were done, so she and Harry would be flooing home to join Remus.

As expected, he had not been happy about being kept in the dark for so long. But he had not offered any protest when Harry had informed him that he'd come home for the moon too. Maybe Moony was learning.

"No," Marina answered her friend. "But your brother somehow manages to send me notes every few weeks or so, to let me know they're alive." And given what she knew about the Ministry, she did not want to think about how much trouble he would get in if he got caught doing it.

* * *

 _ **October 30**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

She swore to Merlin, if people didn't stop staring she'd scream.

The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang delegations had arrived yesterday. It had been an impressive sight, the Abraxan winged horses pulling the carriage and the giant underwater ship. The entire school had been groomed and present, the teachers strangely tense. Showing off was common even in the magical world, so the professors wanted them on their best behavior.

Marina had been awed by Madame Maxime as much as anyone else – though no one could rival Hagrid. The man was gobsmacked to have met someone as... large as he was. On the other end, of course, was Karkaroff.

Perhaps it was a good thing that her Dad was still on a pointless chase – he would not take it well to have a Death Eater under the same roof with her and Harry.

The whole lot of them had then proceeded to the Great Hall and taken their seats at their regular tables. All the Beauxbatons students had promptly sat down at the Ravenclaw table – Carmen, Trish and Sam had promptly started a conversation with some of them – and the Durmstrang students had taken seats with the Slytherins. Elvira (Rookwood), whom she got along with amazingly well, saved them from the schmoozing of the residents – all but one of them.

Because Viktor had crossed the Hall after the feast, come over to the Gryffindor table, and pulled Marina off the bench and into a hug. She hadn't seen him coming or she would probably have fled.

All three schools, sort of, were staring at them in shock.

"You just had to this now," she grumbled, even as she hugged him back.

"Tey vill stare anyvay," Viktor replied and took a small step back.

"Yes, but now they'll stare at me too." Which had most likely been the point.

For all he was an international star, Viktor hated the attention. All the wanted was to play Quidditch and, at some point, win the World Cup. Schmoozing and small talk weren't really his thing.

" _Sŭzhalyavam_ **1** ," he told her sheepishly.

"No, you're not," she retorted. "You did it in purpose. In case I'm not there to keep the masses at bay, Elvira will help too." The girl couldn't care less about fame – her name was infamous enough for a dozen people.

Before any more could be said, Dumbledore rose and demanded attention. Viktor returned to his school mates and she sat back down, pointedly ignoring the stares and envy.

"The moment has come," the Headmaster said, smiling." The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin. I would like to say a few words to clarify the procedure which we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mr Bartemius Crouch, and the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, Mr Ludo Bagman."

"Good thing you've been distracted so far," Angelina mumbled as everyone applauded. Marina had not kept her disdain for Crouch secret at all.

"Mr Bagman and Mr Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last year on the arrangements for the Tournament,-" Dumbledore explained, "- and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the panel which will judge the champions' efforts."

"Yes, because that will be totally impartial," Fred muttered.

While Dumbledore was setting up the Goblet of Fire – the ancient magical artefact that would chose the champions – Marina looked around and noticed a lot of disgruntled faces. People still hadn't gotten over the age restriction.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation, there will be no opportunity to submit your names yourselves. Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime and myself have drawn up lists of all our students of age, including those under a Maturity Exception, and will be submitting those lists tomorrow evening."

Maybe she was imagining it, but he'd put extra emphasis on mentioning the Exception.

"Any of you who do _**not** _ wish to compete have until tomorrow at four o'clock in the afternoon to let us know. Your name will be taken off the list. And then it will be out of our hands – and the Goblet will decide who will represent our schools."

It hadn't even started yet, but the Tournament was already giving her a headache.

* * *

 **1** **Bulgarian for** _ **I'm sorry**_ **.**


	26. No Choice

It was an odd picture and yet strangely good.

Since they couldn't all go to one Common Room, they had assembled in the courtyard. In one corner, there was Harry, Ron, Draco, Theo, Neville, Hermione, Susan, Hannah Abbott and Daphne Greengrass.

Marina really had been out of it if she hadn't even noticed Harry and Hermione had befriended the Slytherin girl in Ancient Runes.

And close-by, there were her friends: Fred, George, Lee, Angelina, Katie, Carmen, Trish, Sam, Jolene and Elvira.

She couldn't remember ever seeing members of all Houses getting along. She'd have to send Narcissa a box of chocolate – while arrogant as ever, Draco had actually become a person. And he couldn't really help the arrogance given the family fortune he'd been spoon-fed all his life.

Of course, the subject was the Tournament. Marina could still hear some misgivings about being too young to compete – she, on the other hand, had just personally been in Dumbledore's office to get herself off that list.

Yet she couldn't shake the feeling of dread.

It had been four months since Bellatrix had last made a nuisance of herself – the Dark Mark didn't count since it had been Crouch Jr casting it. And that so-called lead the aurors had gotten was more of a wild pixie chase.

But she'd overheard Ron and Harry talking about how Arthur had had to bail Mad-Eye out of trouble only days before school had started. Most people would just call him paranoid and shrug it off, but...

"Ouch!"

Marina looked up to see Hedwig drop something in Harry's lap. Apparently, she'd had to pick him to get his attention.

He ripped open the letter and skimmed it.

"Sirius is home," he told her, grinning.

Before she could ask if he'd mentioned anything about what had happened, a school owl landed on her – literally – and dropped an evening edition of the _Daily Prophet_ in her lap. That was odd enough in itself, since she'd only subscribed to the morning editions.

Everyone watched as she opened the paper – she didn't have to look for long. It had actually made the front page.

" _ **Harry Potter Adopted !**_

 _Precisely thirteen years after the tragic deaths of his parents, the Boy Who Lived is officially no longer an orphan._

 _A source in the Ministry told us that Mr Sirius Black had petitioned to adopt his godson only a few weeks after he had been granted custody. Given the circumstances of the belated reunion however, the Ministry ruled to wait and see if the arrangement would work out or not – especially considering the fact that the Blacks have welcomed a werewolf into their household._

 _While the consensus of Hogwarts students is that Remus Lupin had been their best teacher yet, no one can deny how dangerous a creature he really is._

 _That gives reason to wonder if Mr Black is really the best guardian for the most famous orphan of our world. His own daughter, Marina Black, is reported to be highly advanced in Defence Against the Dark Arts – which makes us wonder why she felt the need to hone her skills at such a young age._

 _Of course, young Harry has quite a habit of seeking out danger himself, so perhaps all those warning signs don't bother him. Sources tell us that Harry and Marina have been calling each other_ _ **'**_ _godbrother_ _ **'**_ _and_ _ **'**_ _godsister_ _ **'**_ _for years, even as they risk each others' lives on a regular basis._

 _However, whatever misgivings the Ministry seems to have had so far are clearly of no concern anymore._

 _Just like with the Maturity Exception, which has been granted to Ms Black faster than ever before, the Ministry looks to be helpless against Sirius Black – who, no doubt, uses his false imprisonment to his advantage whenever it suits him._

 _Early this evening, the Wizard Orphanage and the Ministry signed the adoption papers. Now, young Mr Potter is officially Sirius Black's son – Merlin help him._

 _Whether or not the boy will now no longer feel the need to be at the center of attention remains to be seen._

– _Rita Skeeter_ "

Marina could only stare at the paper in shock. How the bloody hell did that woman get away with things like this? And what was that editor thinking, letting her?

Carmen took the paper from her and read out loud, so everyone would understand why she was stunned.

"You should have hexed her," Fred grumbled after a moment of silence.

Harry, on the other hand, was happy. It took her a moment to get past the indignation of all the rubbish that woman had just told the world, and focus on what really mattered in that whole article.

The adoption had been granted.

"Yes, because that would help matters," she deadpanned. "You think this is bad? What do you think she'd be writing if I'd jinxed her?"

Then she walked over and hugged her _**brother**_. Now it was even legal.

* * *

 _ **October 31**_ _ **st**_ _ **1994**_

"You look like hell," Carmen announced after breakfast.

Marina shot her a glare, but didn't comment. Hard to argue with the truth.

She'd spent the whole night having the same dream... nightmare all over again. Every time she'd fallen asleep, she'd dreamt it again.

That had never happened before – and it was a horrendously bad omen.

She'd _**seen**_ herself being a Triwizard Champion, which should be utterly impossible, given Dumbledore had personally taken her off the list. Yet that's what she'd spent eight hours seeing.

Even worse though, she'd also seen the Goblet choose Harry – which should be even less of a risk since he hadn't even _been_ on the list.

So first thing in the morning, before even considering breakfast, she'd gone to see Mad-Eye.

Since he was the one who'd instilled the incessant paranoia in her, he hadn't brushed her concerns off. But he had spent an hour assuring her that he had kept an eye on the Goblet all night.

But the knot in her stomach refused to disappear – she'd barely managed to tease Viktor about Karkaroff willing him to become Durmstrang Champion if he could.

Even a letter from David hadn't improved her mood any, though she'd answered immediately. Apparently Charlie was coming for a visit soon – and the Weasley had asked for moral support because he was bringing his girlfriend. Merlin knew Molly would be thrilled. She and Carmen had agreed to come along during the holidays – thinking to themselves that he wouldn't be able to keep the woman secret that long.

Her father had written, again, and promised that he and Remus – Skeeter be damned – would be stopping by on Christmas. They'd rightfully assumed that no one wanted to go home during the Tournament.

It was another reason why she wished they'd never resurrected it.

* * *

 _ **Hallowe'en Feast**_

The entire Hall was buzzing with exitement – people had barely eaten, too eager to have the Champions chosen.

Marina hadn't eaten because she was nauseous.

When Dumbledore announced the time had come, her insides coiled. Never in her life had she been hoping so feverently to be wrong – not even when she'd predicted the whole mess with Quirrell.

The Goblet's flames turned bright red and it spit out a tiny piece of parchmant, presumably what remained of one of the lists. Dumbledore caught it.

"The champion for Durmstrang-," he read loudly, "-will be Viktor Krum."

Marina applauded and even managed a smile when Viktor threw her one. But her veins were like ice. _One down, two to go._

A few seconds later, a second piece of parchmant came flying out of the Goblet.

"The champion for Beauxbatons-," Dumbledore announced, "-is Fleur Delacour."

The girl was easily the most beautiful in the bunch. She walked towards the door behind the teacher table with such grace that she almost looked as if she was floating.

When everyone focused back on the Goblet, all of Hogwarts was holding its breath. The piece of parchment was tossed out by the flames, Dumbledore caught it.

"The Hogwarts champion is-," he started – and cut himself off. Even across the distance, Marina could sense his shock.

She closed her eyes in silent misery.

"Marina Black," Dumbledore finished – and the Hall exploded in cheers.

Thanks to the _Prophet_ everyone knew she'd gotten an Exception and was therefore, technically, of age. But only so many people knew she'd asked Dumbledore to exclude her.

So while the entire school was celebrating her as champion, she silently stared at the Headmaster, glued to her seat.

Part of her just wanted to refuse, to tell them No and be done with it, but even as she was thinking it, Marina could feel the Goblet's magic settling in her. Binding her.

Something told her that refusing magic as ancient as the Goblet's would be a bad idea.

Her friends on all tables hadn't joined the applause and where staring at her in sympathy.

There was really no use in making a scene in front of everyone, so she forced herself to stand.

"Send Hedwig to Dad," she asked Harry quietly in passing. "He can't find out from the _Prophet_."

Harry nodded, his eyes as big as saucers, and watched her walk up front.

* * *

She hadn't even gotten half of the way, when it happened:

the Goblet's flame turned red again.

Marina's knees almost buckled in dread as everyone gaped at the artefact in confusion. She shook her head in silent denial as Dumbledore seemed to catch the parchment almost on autopilot.

The Headmaster stared at it for a moment, then he met her eyes.

She kept shaking her head, silently asking him not to say it. As if that would change anything.

Everyone was staring at Dumbledore while he was looking at her – torn inside, she could tell. Something had gone terribly wrong right under the man's nose; and now she and her little brother would have to bear the consequences.

Nobody dared move a muscle as the shocked silence continued, not even the teachers. Viktor and Fleur still stood in the doorway, utterly confused.

Marina decided that staring at each other all night wouldn't solve anything, so she put the Headmaster out of his dilemma.

She slowly turned on her heels and looked at Harry.

Her brother sensed as if he'd suddenly turned to ice – numb with shock. He gaped at her, almost as if not comprehending. But everyone understood what she meant, even without her saying it.

"How?" he managed to croak out, trembling.

Marina shook her head – she had no idea, how. Not that it mattered anymore, she thought grimly, as she sensed the Goblet's magic settling in him as well. He was as bound to this mess as she was now.

Outraged whispers started throughout the Hall, some people obviously thinking he'd hoodwinked everyone somehow.

In a remarkable show of support, all of Harry's and her friends – on all the tables – stood and walked over to him, glaring at the complaining morons.

Harry, recovering his Gryffindor courage, pulled himself together and stood to face the disaster.

Marina held out her arm, beckoning him to join her. A very big part of her wasn't planing on letting him out of her sight ever again.

Anyone with half a brain cell could tell that he was less than thrilled but he joined her and the other champions. Together, they walked through the door Dumbledore had indicated before and waited.

Not for long though. Only a minute later the three Heads of the schools, Bagman, Crouch, McGonagall and Snape joined them.

" 'ow could zis 'appen, Dumbly-dorr?" Maxime demanded and waved hand for emphasis. Given her height, she accidentally knocked a chandelier out of the way.

"No one is to blame but Potter," Snape said malevolently. Marina cut him off before he could even get started.

"No student, no matter what age, could have gotten past the protections," she said grimly. "Professor Dumbledore himself put them in place, so I'll wager that even the teachers would have trouble."

Everyone turned to look at her, next to Harry, and shockingly enough, they settled down a bit. She must really have made a picture.

"You could have," Karkaroff disagreed. "We all know how advanced you are, Black."

Lovely. Maybe there was a gossip meeting among Death Eaters.

"Not advanced enough to break anything Dumbledore cast!" she snapped. "And you and Madame Maxime were _**both**_ there when I asked the Headmaster to take me off that list."

"You do not vant to compete?" Viktor asked – and she took a second to appreciate the progress he'd made in pronounciation within a single day.

"No, I don't," she confirmed. "I'm in the Duelling League, that's quite enough – and now I'll have to quit the Cup this year because there is no way they'll let me duel for it while I'm part of this insanity."

"Assuming you will be," Karkaroff huffed – he actually huffed. Not very dignified considering his usual manners.

"Whoever put Black's and Potter's names in-," growled a deep voice from the door, "-knew they'd have to compete under the Tournament rules."

Mad-Eye had joined the party. Marina had been wondering where he was. For the first time she could remember, she did something she'd sworn she never would. Blaming him.

"How did this happen, Mad-Eye?" she asked, not bothering with his title. "How the _**bloody hell**_ did whoever did this get past you?"

It boggled the imagination.

"What are you talking about, Black?" McGonagall questioned into the silence that followed.

"I had a Seeing all night last night-," she explained. "-, predicting this very nightmare. So I went to talk to Mad-Eye first thing in the morning. He said he watched the Goblet all night."

"My eye is not infallible," he grumbled when everyone turned to stare at him.

"Not, but on guard duty _**you** _ are," she said. Something was very wrong, aside from the obvious.

"It really is no matter," Crouch butted in. "We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete."

A rush of hatred washed through Marina at the sound of his voice. She frowned.

She hated Crouch, true, but that hadn't been her own emotion.

" _C'est impossible_ ," Maxime complained. "It is not just. I will be sending complains to the Ministry and the-"

"The only ones with reason to complain-," a new voice snapped angrily, "- are my children."

Marine whirled around and gasped. Her father was beyond furious. There was no word in the English language to describe his anger.

He'd evidently been sparring with Remus, since they were both wearing duelling robes.

"Carmen asked Professor Flitwick to send us a Patronus message," Remus explained.

They both strode over to them – but they knew better than to hug either her or Harry in mixed company.

"And you what? Apparated straight to Hogsmeade?"

"Floo-ed to my office," McGonagall supplied helpfully.

But apparently not even the arrival of her infamous father was enough to quell the outrage.

"Why should zey complain?" Fleur burst out – all that was missing was her stamping a foot. "Zey 'ave a chance to compete, don't zey? We 'ave been 'oping to be chosen for weeks! Ze 'onour for our schools! A thousand Galleons – zis is a chance many would die for!"

"Maybe someone's hoping they _**are**_ going to die for it," her father growled, voicing the very thought that had crossed her mind.

But it was very strange indeed that Mad-Eye hadn't said it first.

"Someone very skilled put their names in that Goblet," Remus said seriously.

"What evidence is zere of zat?" Maxime asked, throwing up her hands.

"They somehow managed to bamboozle the Goblet into forgetting that only three schools compete in the Tournament. Yet here we are, with four champions," her Dad elaborated, his voice cold as ice.

"You just don't want to believe your brats did this themselves," Karkaroff dismissed him.

Harry had apparently had enough.

"Marina and I have risked our lives before, when it really mattered," he snapped – and everyone looked surprised that he was speaking up. "Going up against dark wizards, the basilisk, the ruddy dementors... there was a good reason behind it all. Why in the name of Merlin would we want to risk our lives for this nonsense?"

An awkward silence followed. But Fleur hadn't given up yet, and opened her mouth to list the reasons again.

"Fleur-," Marina said before the girl could so much as get one word out, "-, Harry inherited his grandparents' fortune – since James and Lily never spent it – and I inherited my great-grandfather's. It's all been sitting in our vaults for over a decade – the interest the goblins grant alone... … We have enough savings to last a lifetime.

And we're both more famous than we'd ever want to be, without doing a damn thing."

Finally, there seemed to be nothing anyone could say to that.

* * *

After it had been established that they didn't have a choice but to compete, the group had dispersed quickly. Karkaroff and Maxime were still fuming with indignation, but at least Fleur and Viktor believed them when they said they hadn't done this themselves.

In this instance, the empathy was a relief.

Once McGonagall had all but pushed Snape out, Remus and her Dad had not been able to take it anymore and pulled Harry and her into a group hug.

"Well, at least it'll be old news," Harry mumbled after a minute. "Going in blind is pretty much par for the course."

The first task, they'd been told, was on November 23rd and they wouldn't know what they'd be facing until a few minutes before then.

"You've trained all summer," Marina muttered and squeezed his shoulder. "You're at least a year ahead in DADA – we'll just have to keep training Charms and Transfiguration." Which was a lot easier said than done when they didn't know what they were training _**for**_.

* * *

 _ **November 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

This entire mess was even worse than she'd expected. While their friends stood with them, no questions asked, the rest of Hogwarts was convinced Harry had cheated his way in.

The worst wrinkle however, was Ron.

The Weasley knew Harry hadn't entered himself, yet didn't seem to grasp that Harry wouldn't compete if given a choice. Apparently, he believed Harry had gotten lucky.

So now the best friends weren't talking – which put Hermione and Susan in a rather awkward position. The girls kept running back and forth, trying to get them to reconcile. At the end of the day though, Hermione stuck with Harry – probably because she was angry at Ron's behavior, even though she'd never say so – and Susan stuck with Ron – because she felt the same way he did.

Marina, as far as the school was concerned the legit Hogwarts champion, got applause wherever she went. It was maddening.

Then last night she'd had a dream...

* * *

 _It was Dromeda's back yard, Marina recognised, before the dream sucked her in. It was a memory from when she'd been twelve..._

 _She was studying up on her Charms essay, lying on her back during sunset, when she sensed someone approaching. Marina smiled._

" _Hello, Grandpa," she greeted the man._

 _Arcturus Black was an imposing figure of a wizard. Always dressed in impeccable, tailored robes and wearing the family ring, he embodied the very image if wizarding nobility._

 _The fact that he had more power than three average wizards combined didn't hurt either._

 _Technically, Arcturus wasn't her grandfather, but her Dad's. But from the very first time he'd showed up, when she'd been seven, he'd insisted she call him Grandpa._

 _Given what she'd read in her Mum's journals that was rather odd._

 _According to her parents, Arcturus was a pure-blood fanatic as much as any Death Eater, and he would not have approved of his grandson having a child with a muggle-born. And considering that almost all members of the family had joined Voldemort's ranks during the war, the Black name had a bitter aftertaste._

 _So she'd been positively surprised when it had turned out her father had been wrong about Arcturus. He would have prefered pure-bloods to stay in power as far as politics went, yes, but he was not quite as fanatic as his son and his wife had been._

 _Last year then, he'd told her that after after the war – when it had been save to do anything – he'd gone and made her his heir, leaving her grandparents and Dromeda's sisters nothing._

 _Marina had asked what had happened to her Dad, who should have been heir instead, but Arcturus had told her not to ask again – because Dromeda had made it a condition of allowing him contact with her that he take an Unbreakable Vow that he would never answer her questions about her father. Marina hadn't spoken to her for weeks._

 _Her grandfather had been a somewhat steady visitor since, showing up at least once during every holidays._

" _Hello, sweetheart." Dromeda had just about fainted the first time he'd called her that._

 _Marina looked up at his tone – and gasped._

 _Arcturus looked positively awful. He was clutching his cane, which had always been for show, as if his life depended on it. His naturally pale skin had turned green, his eyes were blood-shot and he'd lost weight._

 _That certainly explained why Ted had insisted on casting protective charms on her this morning._

" _Have you been to St. Mungo's?" she asked, scrambling to her feet._

" _It's too late," he replied steadily, sneezing. Sparks came out of his nose._

 _Her grandfather was 89 years old – Dragon Pox was almost always lethal at that age._

" _Don't feel bad," he said gently when she felt tears burning in her eyes. "I survived Voldemort – like I told the coward I would – and managed to take of you, so I'm ready to go."_

" _You met Him?" she asked, startled. It was the first she heard of it._

" _He tried to recruit me once," Arcturus confirmed. "I told him to go to hell."_

 _Obviously her father hadn't know that given the attitude he'd had according to her Mum._

" _How long do you have?" she question quietly and forced herself not to cry. He abhorred weakness._

" _Not even until you go back to school," he answered her, sneezing again. "You'll be just fine, sweetheart, I know it."_

" _How?"_

" _You're a Black," he said proudly, with a hint of his ususal arrogant smile. "_ _ **And Blacks are survivors, no matter what.**_ _"_

* * *

She hadn't remembered that in some time. Arcturus had been right, of course. He hadn't even lasted until the end of the month.

The irony didn't escape her – Harry's grandparents had died of the Pox too. The universe was having a riot at their expense.

Marina shook herself out of her musings in time for DADA. Mad-Eye always allowed her and the rest of the advanced students to do homework while he was teaching the rest, so it lightened their load.

Today, though, they'd barely sat down when Mad-Eye stopped in his tracks and stared at the door. Seconds later, a first-year entered hesitantly and stuttered that Marina was needed upstairs. Poor kid was terrified of the grouch.

He waved her out and she sighed, knowing what this was about. She'd read the Tournament rules and knew that before anything else happened, someone would evaluate their wands to check if they were still in working order.

By the time she arrived at the classroom they'd be occupying for the Weighing of the Wands, Viktor and Fleur were already there, as were the judges – Karkaroff, Maxime, Crouch, Bagman and Dumbledore – and a photographer.

Marina was about to ask when Harry came bursting out of... a broom closet... followed closely by Rita Skeeter.

Lovely, she thought, poor Harry had been ambushed by the cockroach.

Her brother shot her a look that spoke volumes of the article they'd probably soon get to read, then they took their seats.

"May I introduce Mr Ollivander?" Dumbledore said, sitting down too. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the Tournament."

The old wizard stepped forward from the window and stayed in the middle of the room.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, if you would?" Ollivander asked politely. Fleur all but floated over to him and handed over her wand.

The wand-maker twieled the wand and inspected it carefully.

"Nine and a half inches, inflexible... rosewood... and containing... dear me..."

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a Veela," Fleur confirmed proudly. "One of my grandmuzzers."

Well, that certainly explained why the male students in the castle had been going gaga over the young woman.

Ollivander then produced a bouquet of flowers and declared her wand in perfect order, before handing her both.

"Ms Black, you next."

The man was obviously working under the _Ladies first_ guise of manners.

"Ah, yes, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Ollivander said exitedly once she handed him her wand. "Yes, I remember. Ten and a half inches, ebony, and dragon heartstring... inflexible. It's in good condition. "

Then the man transfigured an extra chair into a throne worthy of a queen (his words, not hers) before handing it back, satisfied.

"Mr Krum, please."

Viktor shuffled over and gave up his wand, scowling. The kids were still astounded how unsteady he looked with both feet on the ground, she knew.

"Gregorovitch made this one. … Hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" Ollivander asked Viktor, who nodded. "Rigid... ten and a quarter inches... _Avis_!"

Birds came out of the wand and Ollivander proclaimed Victor's wand in impeccable condition.

"That leaves... Mr Potter."

Harry had told her what had happened when he'd bought that wand, and as Ollivander held it up for inspection they both sincerely hoped the wand-maker wasn't about to tell everyone about the connection to Voldemort's wand. Especially with Skeeter in the room.

But, thankfully, he didn't and handed the wand back to Harry.

And then, they had to endure the photo-shoot. Skeeter was relentless, not matter how much all four of them protested.

That article was going to unleash hell on earth.


	27. Round 1

_**November 19**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

Marina woke up, for a moment confused. She was not in bed and her perspective was all wrong. It took a second for her brain to catch up, processing the dog and raven next to her – as well as an unconscious, but human again, Remus.

It was the morning after the full moon, and Marina would love nothing more than to curl back up into a ball and stay asleep. Or stay a lynx permanently.

Skeeter's article had come out ten days ago, and as predicted it had been a doozy. Viktor and Fleur had been mentioned exactly once – both names misspelled – and the rest had been all about Harry and Marina – Skeeter's skewed version of their life story.

She'd quoted Harry saying that he thought Lily and James would have been proud of him competing, when they both knew they'd be terrified. Her Dad had been outraged.

The part about Harry still crying over their deaths sometimes had transformed school to hell for her brother. And to top all that, she'd interviewed a few naïve students:

" _Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school."_

That probably been the part about the article that had bothered Harry the least, given that most of it was true – except for the insinuantion of romance of course.

Marina, on the other hand, had been dubbed an ice queen, not caring the least bit that her mother was dead – and competing to impress her equally reckless father. Also, she apparently intimidated her friends to the point they feared for their lives – because why else would they support her?

Then the so-called reporter had – finally – plastered the photo of her and David they'd taken at the World Cup all over the front page, next to Harry's portrait, and proclaimed that her crossing lines was nothing new, as she was seducing an Auror (!) into an illegal relationship.

" _... one of the most promising aurors in a long time, has fallen victim to Marina's allure. Her best friend's older brother, Mr David Nott has been by Ms Black's side all her life, and now she has obviously decided to take it a step further, despite the fact that she is still a student at Hogwarts..."_

While the facts were somewhat true enough, there was nothing illegal about it. She'd covered her bases with Amelia, who had assured her that, student or not, the Maturity Exception ensured that David would not get into trouble.

He was the reason she forced herself to turn back too. It was his birthday today and the day after the moon was included in Harry's and her special permission to leave school – so she was actually home for it, for the first time. David was, of course, at work and wouldn't get home until well after five pm, which left all of two hours before she'd have to get back to the castle – and detention duty. She'd gotten him the dragon hide boots he'd been staring at for almost a year but had never bought them, saving the money for a rainy day.

Marina had no such qualms and he'd been spending loads of money on her, so she'd went and gotten them instead. And with Elias an board, they'd be completely alone at the guys' place for the first time in... ever, come to think of it.

* * *

 _ **November 21**_ _ **st**_ _ **1994**_

 _'Promise me you'll worry about yourself for a change, not just Harry,'_ David had said when she'd had to leave on his birthday.

Thanks to his mother, she'd managed to cook his favourite meal for dinner and they'd spent the entire time oddly peacefully – not something either of them was particularly used to.

Of course they couldn't completely ignore the erumpent in the room, so they'd talked about the Tournament. David was every bit as terrified as her father and Remus. More so than Harry and her even – though she suspected that would set in soon.

Marina couldn't promise him. Even while battling the basilisk or Death Eaters, part of her had always been worrying about Harry. Not that David would be any different if it had been one of his siblings they'd been talking about.

 _'I love you,'_ she'd told him instead and kissed him goodbye, before leaving him stunned on the spot. She hadn't waited for a reply.

Now she was at Hogsmeade with her friends, well aware that everyone was buzzing with exitement about the task tomorrow.

Harry was starting to feel the fear he'd had a choke-hold on thus far however.

When Hagrid asked them to come to his cabin at midnight, Marina was sorely tempted to say No – at least pretending to be a Prefect – but the gamekeeper had never asked them outright to break the rules before. Curiosity won out.

* * *

Marina had disillusioned herself and Harry was wearing his Cloak. All evidence pointed towards them being spectators to Hagrid's date – with Madame Maxime.

They'd barely followed the oversized pair for a minute, when she saw it.

 _ **Dragons**_.

Of course, Marina thought to herself in mute horror, that was why Charlie was here – when he so clearly didn't want to reveal the girlfriend yet.

She stared at the four fully grown and dangerous beasts, while they were busy fighting against their cages and spitting fire.

There was a Chinese Fireball, scarlet red with golden spikes around its head and a bad attitude.

The second was a Welsh Green, with green scales and two spiked horns on the head.

The third was a Hebridean Black, with its dark scales, ridges along the back and an arrow-shaped spike at the end of its tail. It was one of the most vicious dragon breeds still alive.

The fourth and last was a Hungarian Horntail, the most dangerous of all. It had black scales and spikes along its tail – the same bronze colour as its horns.

 _Merlin help us_ , she tought when Harry blindly reached over and held onto her arm.

Dozens of witches and wizards were trying to control them but gave up and stunned the beasts into submission instead. Charlie was officially insane, choosing this line of work.

Speaking of, the Weasley had spotted Hagrid and was coming over once the dragons were knocked out.

As the two crazies discussed the different breeds, Marina quietly sank to the floor, feeling dizzy. _Dragons_.

"... she's bound to tell her student, isn't she?" Charlie asked and she realised they must have switched to the subject of Hagrid's choice of date.

"One for each champion. What've they gotta do – fight 'em?" Hagrid asked.

"Just get past them, I think," Charlie mumbled. "We'll be on hand, just in case. They wanted nesting mothers-," _Oh dear Merlin._ "-, I don't know why... But I don't envy the champions."

No kidding.

"How are Harry and Marina?" Charlie asked, trying to draw Hagrid's attention away from the eggs his colleagues were bringing.

"Fine."

"Hope they'll still be fine after they've faced this lot," Charlie huffed grimly. "I didn't dare tell Mum what the first task would be, she's already losing it." Then he imitated Molly as she broke down about Harry competing and the fabrications Rita Skeeter had published.

Marina sensed Harry leaving, but she was still kind of rooted to the ground. _Dragons_.

A blonde woman, a few inches shorter than Charlie, came over to them. She was wearing the same protective clothes as the redhead, proclaiming her Dragonologist as well. Her skin was weather-worn too, but still fairly pale. She had obvious muscles, if not quite as pronounced as Charlie's and, she was sure, the other men's. Her eyes glinted gunmetal gray – the second Marina could actually see them, due to the fire.

Charlie saw her coming – and Marina immediately sensed an emotion she was familiar with by now. She was getting a preview of the girlfriend.

"Hagrid, this is Irina Talinov," Charlie introduced her proudly. "Irina, this is Hagrid – the school's gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

Hagrid managed to snap out of it long enough to shake the woman's hand and wink at Charlie.

"We should've kept feeding them Calming Draught," Irina muttered, exhausted. Her English was flawless – but you could still hear the Russian accent.

"They'll have calmed down by tomorrow," Charlie assured no one in particular, or maybe himself.

"Great deal of difference that will make," Irina sighed. "Can't we just tell your friend she's about to have to face a dragon?"

And Marina already liked her.

"Can't, it's cheating," Charlie refused – even though he was desperately tempted. "And she'd tell Harry."

"So?" Irina demanded. "You said they don't even want to do this but have no choice." She apparently accepted that fact on Charlie's word only, earning major brownie points. It would impress the Weasleys too.

Finally, Marina was able to move again and decided that she'd done enough eavesdropping. Plus, the lot of them would get into trouble if she got caught.

Now she just needed to figure out how to get past a _dragon_. No big deal.

* * *

 _ **November 22**_ _ **nd**_ _ **1994**_

Suffice to say, she hadn't slept worth a damn.

Harry had told her at breakfast that he'd bumped into Karkaroff the night before, so at least all the champions were on equal footing.

And in the early morning hours she'd figured out how to survive whatever dragon she'd have to face – her favourite charm. She'd spent all night with her mind spinning, tossing around everything she'd ever heard about dragons. Much like any reptile, dragons needed and preferred heat; rather fortunate they could breathe fire.

The beasts couldn't stand the cold for too long, so her Glacio Charm should do the trick – if she could concentrate long enough to put enough power behind it.

Maybe she was being naively optimistic, but she felt calmer now that she had a plan.

Which left her brother.

Non-verbal spells – which he'd sometimes use absentmindedly without noticing it – wouldn't help him against a dragon. And he hadn't yet discovered his talent for fire-spells – which would do him absolutely no good either. In this case, you did not best fight fire with fire. His prowess at Runes was off the list as well.

That left really only one thing Harry excelled in – Quidditch.

After she'd told him all that, he'd been desperate. He wasn't allowed his broomstick, only his wand. So the only way for him to out-fly whichever of the beasts he'd have to face was to Summon his _Firebolt_ to him into the arena. It was the one charm he'd been having nothing but trouble with.

Hermione and Daphne had volunteered to help him practise and took turns doing so. Draco and Theo kept the nosier – and the nastier – students at bay, using their surnames to exact influence.

Marina's friends made sure that no Prefects or teachers would catch them once the pratice went past curfew. She had another mission however.

Entirely fed up with everything going wrong, she'd strongarmed the twins into telling her where their little brother was – she hadn't had the patience to Summon the Map – and they'd reluctantly spilled that Ron, Susan and Hannah were outside, doing homework for Muggle Studies.

The three of them looked up when she arrived – and immediately became weary.

"You're right to feel bad," she huffed and glared at the lot of them. "This has been going on long enough. So pull your heads out of your behinds and be there for your friend already."

The girls experienced an adequate amount of guilt, but Ron forced his down, looking at her defiantly. Marina looked around to make sure they were alone – and glared back.

"He has to fight a dragon tomorrow," she told her brother's best friend grimly. "A fully grown, viciously dangerous dragon."

Because no matter which one he'd get, they were all breeding mothers and dangerous.

Ron paled dangerously, dropping his parchment.

"Still think Harry got lucky, being entered?" she questioned sarcastically. "Because personally I think whoever did this is trying to kill us."

Which immediately brought her mind to Bellatrix and Crouch Jr – not that she had mentioned any of it to Harry. He was preoccupied enough.

Properly chagrined, the three kids packed up their stuff and the girls hurried after Ron as he sprinted towards the castle. Maybe she'd overdone the guilt-trip a bit, but her brother would be facing a dragon tomorrow. He could really use his best friend back.

* * *

 _ **November 23**_ _ **rd**_ _ **1994**_

"He what?" Marina asked, stunned. She'd left her brother and his friends to train last night and had instead listened to Angelina and Katie, trying to cheer her up – she hadn't told them about the dragons, though, so she couldn't really take the pep-talk to heart.

And now, as if her head wasn't spinning enough, Harry had just told her how Mad-Eye had offered to help him – which constituted cheating. The Mad-Eye she knew wouldn't do that.

Oh, he wouldn't tell on them for having found out about the dragons or about their friends rallying to help them – but outright offering Harry a solution... something wasn't right.

Marina didn't have the luxury to ponder what had gotten into her mentor, however. Because time had the funny habit to pass twice as fast when you really wanted it to slow down. Her classes went by in a distracted daze none of the professors called her on, and before she knew it lunch time had arrived.

They'd just forced themselves to eat a bite or two, when McGonagall hurried over to them.

"Potter, Black, the champions have to come down to the grounds now... you have to get ready for the first task."

Harry and she stood, his fork clattering onto his plate. Silence descended as they followed their Head of House outside, who seemed as anxious as their friends.

Outside, Fleur and Viktor were already in the tent that had been erected in front of the dragon enclosure. Both of them looked paler than usual.

Bagman – who looked like an oversized cartoon character among them – was chipper as usual, not at all concerned that they might get hurt when facing the dangerous reptilian beasts they'd imported. When he explained that their task was to get a Golden Egg, she felt rather squeamish. She had a bad feeling about this.

They listened to their school mates arrive, hundreds of pairs of fett passing by and all of the students chatting and joking. They were probably taking bets on this too. Fred and George for sure.

Once they were, presumably, all seated, Bagman announced that it was time and held open a small, purple silk sack.

"Ladies first," he said brightly and offered the sack to Fleur.

The French girl put a slightly trembling hand inside and pulled out a tiny, moving model of a dragon. She'd gotten the Welsh Green, No.2. Fleur didn't seem surprised at all, so Madame Maxine _had_ warned her.

Bagman offered her the sack next and Marina swallowed before reaching in – though her hand remained steady.

She pulled out the Hebridean Black, No.1. _Naturally_.

The tiny model hissed and puffed miniature flames, all the while trying to claw through her gloves.

Viktor was next, and he didn't even so much as blink when he pulled the Chinese Fireball, No.3.

Marina knew what was left and wondered if there would ever be a time when her brother wouldn't get the worst lot ever.

Harry, feeling equal parts afraid and resigned, pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, No.4.

All four champions looked at each other in silent commiseration. Then they grabbed each other by the shoulders, keeping the other ones together. Suddenly, it seemed, Fleur understood exactly why she and Harry hadn't wanted to do this.

Bagman left them to it, hurrying off since he would be commenting the task – just what they needed, the man's two-cents.

A whistle blew – and Marina knew it was time.

" _Kŭsmet_ ," Viktor said simultaneously to Fleur's " _Bonne chance._ " Some things didn't require translation. Harry just squeezed her hand once.

Then she forced her legs to carry her outside and get it over with.

She was looking up at hundreds of faces, looking down on her from the stands that had been magicked here during the night.

And on the other end of the enclosure was the Hebridean Black – the irony of the beast's name was not lost on her, despite her nerves. The female was crouching low over her clucth of eggs, all twenty-five feet tense with aggression, and her purple eyes never wavering from Marina.

Marina, mentally cursing whoever had entered her to the deepest depths of hell, hit herself on the head with her wand and disillusioned herself. The Black could still smell her but at least it couldn't see her anymore – and she needed to get close enough to unleash Antarctica on the beast.

She vaguely heard Bagman shout something but ignored it – the crowed really didn't matter. Staying alive did.

Despite her invisibility she approached slowly and cautiously. Underestemating a dragon would be foolish.

As if to prove her right, the Black lashed out with its tail – which grazed her left arm.

The blow threw her backwards a few feet, the pointed tail had ripped through her robes and skin. The wound pulsed with every beat of her heart, sending pain through her system, and bled strongly.

But it had been worth getting hit: she'd spotted the golden egg among the others.

Marina was dimly wondering if they'd all lost their collective minds, letting them go up against breeding female dragons to steal an egg from their clutch. It was nothing short of stupid.

No matter. She made herself visible again – one hit by the stray tail had been enough, thank you – and the Black roared when it realised how much closer she'd gotten.

But it was too late. She was close enough.

" _Glacius maximus extremus!_ " she yelled, willing ice out of her wand with all her might.

A small blizzard came bursting out of said wand's tip, hitting the dragon full force.

The Black roared – in surprise or pain, she couldn't say – and stomped its massive limbs. The ground shook beneath her but she just crouched down.

Furious, the beast breathed fire – but her ice had gotten too strong and the flame didn't even breach the first layer.

Vey slowly, the dragon was succumbing to the cold, hunching its massive body as if to ward it off. It sat then laid down – letting loose something that in another animal she'd have called a whine.

But Marina couldn't take pity. The blood loss plus expending this much magic was making her dizzy, so she had to finish this now – or the female would kill her for the failed attempt.

Once she was sure the beast wouldn't get up in a hurry, she approached – still blasting ice.

When she reached the clutch of eggs though, dread sank her stomach. Her blizzard hadn't just hit the mother, but her eggs too.

Dragon eggs without heat would result in very much dead dragonlings.

Without even thinking about it, Marina grabbed the bloody golden egg – ending her turn in the task – and stopped her blizzard.

Then she pointed her wand at the eggs, making the half-frozen mother twitch and growl.

" _Incendio_ ," she mumbled, exhausted. But the fire came, engulfing the eggs. It wouldn't hold for very long probably, not as tired as she was, but that was what Charlie and the others were here for.

She dragged herself away from the beast and the eggs.

Her father, Remus and McGonagall were waiting fo her.

Marina barely had time to wonder where Carmen was, as she handed her Dad the egg, before everything went black.

* * *

She woke in the first-aid tent. Madame Pomfrey was in a spectacularly bad mood, rambling about the basilisk, dementors and now dragons.

Apparently, the blood loss had caught up with her. Her Dad was nowhere to be seen – but David was.

"That was impressive," he said, forcing a smile. He needn't have bothered, since he was as pale as a ghost.

"How long was I out?" she asked and squeezed his hand. But she didn't have time to reassure him right now. Not yet.

"You missed Fleur – she tried to hypnotise her dragon, I think. Let's just say it failed. She's over there, being treated for the burns." He pointed to another corner of the tent.

"Krum hit it in the eye with a pretty nasty Conjunctivitis Curse – it trampled the eggs in pain."

"Charlie is not going to like that," she mumbled, sympathetic. The Black hadn't clawed at her when she'd lit a fire under the eggs – even though it could have, sluggish as it had been.

"Neither did the judges. The real eggs weren't supposed to be harmed."

"Let's go," she said, ignoring Madame Pomfrey's flustered outrage. There was no way she'd stay lying on this cot while Harry was facing the Horntail.

David slung an arm around her shoulders and grabbed the egg with his free one, then they hurried to the enclosure.

Marina grinned as soon as she saw her brother up in the air. He didn't sense at all nervous anymore either.

Harry dived – in his usual speed which automatically made her worry he'd crash – and pulled out about half a second before the Horntail spit fire his way. Harry remained unconcerned and focused.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" Bagman yelled exitedly. "Are you watching this, Mr Krum?"

Yes, he was. He'd joined her and David without a word.

"He really can," Viktor agreed grumpily – that was just the way he talked.

"He's pretending he's playing Quidditch," Marina ventured. "That's the only time he's so focused and relaxed at the same time."

On his next dive, the Horntail got Harry with its spiked tail and she winced as she sensed his pain. But Harry had caught the Snitch in his second year with a broken arm, so the cut's sting barely even registered with him.

Realising the dragon wouldn't move, Harry started circling above her head, irritating her.

"He's goading her," David mumbled, transfixed.

"To get her away from the eggs. He can't get close as long as she's sitting on them."

And he flew higher, still circling. The Horntail was following his progress, head turning this way and that.

"Get up already," Marina muttered under her breath.

Harry rose a few feet more and _finally_ the Horntail had enough and reared up, roaring.

But before she'd so much as spread her wings, her insane brother dived down – between her front claws – and grabbed the Golden Egg.

Before speeding away as if dementors were after him under thunderous applause.

Charlie and the other dragon-keepers ran inside to calm the Horntail and Marina saw her Dad and Remus greet an elated Harry.

She sacked against David in relief. _It was over_.

"He did great," David said and rubbed her arm – the one that wasn't in a sling.

This had only been the first task. She was dreading what they'd come up with for second and third.

* * *

After everyone had calmed down, Harry's and her friends had gathered together. Snape had tried to insist that her Dad and Remus had no business being here now that the task was over, but Dumbledore had granted their request to stay until curfew.

All of Hogwarts was celebrating them both – even McGonagall had given high praise.

But Marina was, once again, feeling off. She was getting tired of feeling like it too.

The fact remained that she'd expected someone else to show and chastise her for not dragging her egg upstairs and trying to figure out the riddle right now. He hadn't lectured her about tending to the real dragon egg as opposed to getting out of the enclosure, either, or given a warning about becoming complacent.

Mad-Eye was nowhere to be found.

"Dad," she mumbled quietly so Harry and the others wouldn't hear. "Something's wrong with Moody. Has been all year."

"What do you mean?" he asked and hugged her closer. Remus was listening.

"Something's... off. He hasn't been acting like himself lately.

I mean... as much as it's like Mad-Eye to show fourth-years the Unforgivables... I don't see even Mad-Eye being callous enough to use the Cruciatus in front of Neville.

And turning Zabini – who's taken Draco's place as most annyoing Slytherin ever – into a ferret... maybe outside school he'd do it, but not under Dumbledore's and McGonagall's noses.

Plus... someone did put Harry's and my names into that Goblet. And Mad-Eye doesn't do negligence."

The two men looked each other over her head for a minute. Then they pulled her up.

"Let's go."


	28. Ringer

Of course, the problem with confronting someone with a magical eye was that he saw them coming.

Marina's stomach clenched with every step they got closer, and she couldn't pinpoint which one of her damned gifts was warning her. Either way, there was trouble ahead.

She better be right about this.

* * *

 **David POV**

"What is she doing?" Elias mumbled next to him, an arm around his little sister. Maybe he should be more upset about that, but he couldn't think of anyone but his best friend who'd ever be good enough for Carmen.

David followed their gaze and saw Marina leave the room with Sirius and Remus.

"That can't be good," Carmen muttered and stood as well.

The three of them followed the trio ahead and David could tell something was wrong. Marina looked almost reluctant to go wherever it was they were headed.

"The teachers' common room is that way," Elias realised first – and suddenly David had a good idea what was going on.

"This could get ugly real fast," he said quietly and drew his wand. "If she's right at least."

 _Something's off about Mad-Eye,_ she had said on his birthday. _He's acting more crazy than usual. And he barely ever lectures me at all._

Since Moody had made it his life mission to keep Marina up to par, the latter was the worrisome information.

David himself had found it odd that their mentor had not been berating her for celebrating her win instead of working.

Sirius knocked at the door resolutely, the sound echoing through the hallway. Some students even stopped to gawk – especially given the drawn wands.

The door opened and McGonagall appeared, actually looking startled at who was disturbing their evening.

"Black? Remus, what-?"

She didn't get further than that.

Elias pushed Carmen behind him when they saw a spell-flash inside the room – shooting straight past McGonagall and towards Marina. But she had been prepared.

In a move that Moody had undoubtedly taught her himself, Marina swung her wand in a complicated pattern and rebuffed the spell, protecting her and the men at her side at the same time.

"I really hate it when I'm right," she grumbled under her breath and tossed her hair out of her face.

The commotion inside the room was no surprise at all as the other teachers had joined in and had descended on the attacker.

"Easy, Dad," Marina cautioned a visibly furious Sirius. "It was a large-scale memory charm. It would have messed with everybody's heads in the near vicinity – but it wasn't lethal."

Not that she was any less angry, from the way she was clutching her wand.

It reminded him of their visit to Fudge...

* * *

 _ **18 months earlier**_

" _... is unprecedented, so their really is no protocol...," Fudge was going on nervously._

 _Personally, David thought the Minister was trying to cover his arse from the potential disaster that could come out of this._

" _I would hope there was no precedent-," Marina replied dryly, "-,as that would mean the Ministry makes it a habit to lock up innocent people. My father is innocent, Minister, and if he'd received the trial he had every right to, everyone would know that already."_

 _To any observer, she seemed perfectly calm and composed, even in the face of her own father's torture – because that was what Azkaban really was._

 _But David knew better. Her eyes were hard as granite – which looked just plain wrong in eyes that usually expressed so much – and her voice cold as ice, not calm. Plus, she was clutching her robes as if her life depended on it. Or Sirius'..._

" _Ms Black, you have to understand-"_

" _I understand that this wasn't done under your tenure, Minister," she actually cut the man off, her knuckles turning white from the force she was fisting fabric with. "And I am sure the wizarding community would realise such as well."_

 _Fudge puffed up behind his desk as if she'd pumped air into a balloon. It was magnificently done from a fourteen year-old._

 _Marina shot him a look, most likely sensing his pride, and rolled her eyes. She'd never had any patience for these kinds of games._

" _It will take time," Fudge sighed, giving up. "An official inquiry will have to be launched, the Wizengamot convened..."_

" _I realise that," Marina nodded before Andromeda could so much as take a breath. "But at the same time let's not forget that my father has been suffering the dementors for over a decade now."_

 _Fudge flinched as if she'd punched him. Damn, the girl was good._

" _I will order them to steer clear of Mr Black's cell until this is settled."_

 _From where he stood, David saw Marina's jaw clench; she was literally biting her tongue at the implication that Sirius' reprieve would be only temporary._

 _She cleared her throat._

" _At this point I should inform you, Minister, that I told Harry everything," she informed the politician matter-of-factly._

" _You... you did what?"_

" _Dad is Harry's godfather, so the subject was bound to come up sometime in Hogwarts. I don't ever want him to believe the nonsense about Dad betraying James and Lily. Plus, he has a right to know, period."_

" _But surely Harry didn't need to know yet? He's only twelve years old-"_

" _And has already faced and conquered more than most wizards in their whole lives," Marina deadpanned. "After facing Voldemort twice, I'm fairly certain there is almost nothing my brother can't handle."_

* * *

David blinked when yet another spell-flash yanked him back to the present.

Professor Vector came tumbling out of the room, obviously after being hit with whatever hex it had been.

Elias and Carmen immediately got busy tending to the witch, while David joined the Blacks up front. What he saw made his stomach clench.

Alastor Moody, the best auror the Ministry had ever had, was fighting his fellow professors. Even McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick combined barely stood a chance.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with Mad-Eye?" he wondered out loud, already working off a mental list. The Imperius seemed most likely.

"That's not Mad-Eye," Marina snapped, watching the fight.

"What do you mean it's not him?"

"Just what I said. I don't know who that is, but it's not Moody."

"And how would you know?" Snape's cold voice sounded and David had to remind himself that he was an auror now. Aurors didn't hex teachers.

"No one's talking to you!" Marina bit out, her face red with anger. The image of Snape _smiling_ at the Dementor that had tried to Kiss Sirius reminded David why she'd given up on all pretence of politeness and civility.

Remus had to actively hold Sirius back.

"Black, how do you know?" Professor Babbling asked calmly, ignoring the outraged look Snape shot her.

"Because the bastard is too busy fighting to shield his emotions right now. It's the first time all year that I'm getting a clear read. And that is _not_ Mad-Eye."

As if her words of doom had triggered something, the next hex hit Sprout full-on and the Herbology professor crumbled with a groan.

Marina looked at him and David nodded. It was time to end this.

In unison, they both cast their hexes, drawing attention away from the professors.

The imposter – because if Marina said it wasn't Moody then it wasn't Moody – somehow managed to deflect both spells, but at least now McGonagall and Flitwick were free to tend to Sprout.

Proving that they'd been trained by the same man, Marina cast a large shield that would still let hexes and curses _out_ and David sent three of those their opponents way. Marina's shield rebuffed the counter-curse aimed at them.

"I knew I should have gotten rid of you," fake Moody snarled as he sent a Cutting Curse her way. It was the same curse that had scared her.

"Where is he?" Marina demanded, not even responding to the taunt. "Where is the real Moody?"

To keep using Polyjuice Potion he would need the real Mad-Eye alive. And to keep making it, he'd have to be close by...

"You'll never find him," the moron responded gleefully, laughing.

"We'll see about that," Marina countered grimly, dropping the shield to send a spell of her own.

David had seen the movements before but hadn't attempted it yet himself. It was above N.E.W.T level and very dangerous if done wrong.

Sirius attempted a step forward, to stop her, but Remus pulled him back. Just at Dumbledore was arriving on scene – with half the school in tow as spectators – Marina unleashed her spell.

There was a shield against it, but the still chuckling imposter had obviously not expected her to actually pull it off, so he hadn't cast it.

The spell reversed the effects of Polyjuice Potion, forcing the target back into his own body. It packed one hell of a magical punch.

Fake Moody screamed, in shock or pain he couldn't tell, and almost dropped his wand.

And then he started to morph back into himself – which presented a problem given Mad-Eye's eye.

So, naturally, he ripped it out.

Behind him, someone made disgusted noises and David had to agree. It looked awful.

"Please tell me someone has Veritaserum," Marina said as they watched her spell do its work.

"Always do," Elias spoke up and stepped up next to them.

"How's Vector?" David asked quietly but never took his eyes off their target.

"It'll take a few days to shake off the effects," Carmen replied grimly. "Pomfrey is sending her to St. Mungo's."

"Did he really just battle five teachers... and win?" Susan asked dumbfounded.

"Yes, he did. And you're not supposed to be here," Marina added, exasperated. "You're supposed to be celebrating upstairs."

"Hard to do with the guest of honour down here," Ron said and David could all but see the shrug.

"So how about next time you talk him out of following us?"

"Tried and failed," Hermione announced. "You know how he is."

"I'm right here," Harry cut in dryly. "And you looked worried."

"I can take them back upstairs," Elvira Rookwood offered, her Prefect-voice on full.

"No, it's okay," Marina sighed. "If he'd wanted Harry dead, he had plenty of chances. Besides-," she added darkly, "-, I'd like to see him try get past all of us."

Just then, the reversal was done – and most people present gasped.

David felt his heart stop for a second. He knew that face.

Marina stared at the Death Eater for a second, then she called every curse under the moon down on herself.

"I am so bloody stupid!" she finished her rant at herself. Meanwhile, Elias had disarmed the man.

"Why, Kitten?" Remus asked carefully while she was still breathing heavily.

"After Harry's and my names came out of the Goblet, in the chamber behind the high table – his father was there. I sensed a _huge_ amount of hatred – more than my own, I mean. Dammit, I should have known!"

Marina always did that. She tended to expect more of herself than anyone else ever would, and she always blamed herself for not being omniscient.

When her wand started shooting sparks though, he worried.

"Look at him," Carmen told him quietly. David took a breath and complied.

Barty Crouch Jr hadn't aged as much as you'd expect after twelve years in Azkaban. He still looked like the man in David's nightmares. He could still hear Frank and Alice screaming sometimes.

But the nervous tick the lunatic had always had was worse now: his head was twitching ever so often and he licked his lip nervously – he'd been doing it the whole school year and everyone, himself included, had missed it.

Then David looked back at Marina and froze: her head was twitching too. The empathy was pulling her in too deep.

"Get her out of here," Carmen suggested, still quietly, as to not set her best friend off.

"She won't leave until we find Mad-Eye," he shook his head.

"Well, then let's do that," Sirius said, after blatantly eavesdropping, and took the Veritaserum to force it down Crouch's throat.

Of course, the Death Eater would really rather _not_ comply and in absence of a wand, he tried to punch Sirius instead. Someone should have told him that Marina's father knew how to fight like a muggle.

Sirius simply ducked the punch and kicked Crouch's legs out from under him. The coward had barely hit the ground when Sirius forced his jaw open and dumped the entire vial of potion into his throat. Even if he started spitting, the requisite three drops would make it into his system.

With Remus and Elias both aiming their wands at Crouch, David lowered his and stepped closer to Marina.

Her eyes flashed, irritated, before she closed them and took a breath.

"I'm okay," she said quietly and when she looked at him again, she just seemed tired. "The residue emotion will pass. It always does."

"It's not always a maniac's emotion," David argued and cupped her nape with his free hand, pressing into the knots that seemed to have taken permanent residence.

"I survived Bellatrix, I'll survive Crouch," Marina shrugged – but didn't step out of his reach even though they had quite an audience. That alone spoke volumes.

"You fought a dragon today," David said, stuffing down his own lingering emotion of the fear he'd experienced watching that fight. "You shouldn't have to deal with a crazy Death Eater on top of it."

Instead of her trademark reply that she could handle it, she looked up sharply.

"I forgot to ask – the eggs?" she questioned. "Please tell me I didn't kill a bunch of dragonlings."

"You didn't," Charlie answered her instead and they both turned to look behind them.

The redhead was standing there with an arm around a blonde witch who was wearing the same uniform as him.

"We got to them in time," the woman said with a very thick Russian accent but impeccable English.

"Thank Merlin," Marina sighed. "I swear the Black understood what I was doing when I lit that fire."

"She most likely did," Charlie agreed – David noticed that he'd positioned himself a few inches before the woman; shielding her from Crouch probably.

"Fascinating creatures," Ron imitated Hagrid pretty well, causing everyone to huff a laugh.

"Where is Alastor Moody?" Sirius suddenly demanded sternly, and everybody focused back on the matter at hand.

"Trunk," Crouch spit out, obviously attempting to fight the truth potion.

Marina reached down and took his hand – he hadn't even noticed he'd clenched it.

"His... Moody's office," Harry supplied. "He took me there to... … There is a trunk there. And while I was there it... oh hell."

"What?" Marina asked him – and David marvelled at how much her tone changed when talking to her brother. She could be spitting furious but she'd never talked to Harry in anything but a calm and collected tone.

"It trembled. Like something... or someone was trying to get out," Harry admitted sheepishly.

"You couldn't have known," Hermione, Ron and Susan told him in stereo – apparently expecting him to follow his sister's example and blame himself.

"And the real Mad-Eye did have a lower level Death Eater locked in that trunk once," Marina added casually. "Until he gave up some others. It was creepy when the thing rattled during practice."

The kids grinned, obviously thinking that she was joking but Marina was serious. Moody had done just that, more than once.

"Did you put Harry Potter's name into the Goblet of Fire?" Sirius asked – through clenched teeth.

"Yes," Crouch spat, still fighting.

"Did you put Marina Black's name in into the Goblet?" Carmen demanded just as sharply.

"Yes."

" _ **Why**_ did you put their names into the Goblet?" Remus asked, the only voice of reason left.

"Because my master ordered it," Crouch answered – this time proudly and almost gleefully.

Every student that could hear the answer gasped in horror. But they'd expected that already and showed no visible reaction.

"What does he want with Marina Black?" Marina asked calmly. David noted how Charlie was staring at her, gobsmacked at how relaxed she was faced with this piece of information.

He figured she'd take it out during her next sparring duel and pitied her opponent.

"Witness... ritual...," Crouch gasped, while visibly trying to keep the truth in – before he seemingly found a way out. "He promised Black to Bellatrix, as a reward."

This time, not even Marina could suppress her reaction.

Sirius barely had time to turn his head before she paled and swayed where she stood, clutching his hand like a lifeline. David stepped closer and hugged her to him with one arm.

There could only be one reason why Bellatrix would want her and it wasn't to kill her.

Or not _just_ to kill her.

Carmen hurried to Marina's other side, taking her hand and Remus put his hands on her shoulders in silent support.

While everybody was concerned about this turn of events, there was one person who kept his focus on task.

"What ritual does Voldemort want Ms Black to witness?" Dumbledore asked.

"Return...," Crouch choked.

It was actually impressive how much he was able to fight the potion.

"Where is he?" Marina asked, her voice flat. "Where is your master?"

Crouch convulsed violently, looking like he was having a seizure.

"Fidelius," Sirius announced grimly. "Not even Veritaserum can pry it from him."

"Then it's time to floo or patronus your boss," Carmen said. It was the first time he'd ever seen his sister so indifferent to a person's suffering.

"Better yet," Marina said. "Send an owl to Azkaban. They've been missing him anyway."

* * *

How did you react when you heard your insane cousin had asked her psychopath of a master to keep you as a bloody present?

Not at all, that's how. Otherwise she'd have to curl up and bawl.

It made her all the more grateful she'd never told her Dad that she'd asked David to show her his memories of the night the Longbottoms had been attacked.

Something he most likely regretted doing right about now.

They'd have to talk later.

For now, she would herd everybody to bed – or send them home – and try to get some sleep.

Tomorrow they could worry about how to prevent Voldemort from coming back and using Harry to do it... Because she knew what he needed her brother for.

 _Not if I have anything to do with it._


	29. Yuletide

"How is he doing?" Marina asked Madame Pomfrey the next morning.

Dumbledore had gotten Mad-Eye out of the trunk and magicked his unconscious self to the infirmary.

"The effects of the Imperius are wearing off, and he refuses to go to St. Mungo's," Pomfrey reported, obviously very displeased with that.

"Can he have visitors?"

"Aye," Mad-Eye grumbled from behind the curtain around his bed.

Marina snorted.

"I wasn't talking to you. Last I checked you have no Healer training," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Saw that," he grumbled.

"You put his eye back in?"

"He did, over my objection. He needs rest, but he disagrees. He insists on-"

"Constant vigilance," Marina finished for her. She could imagine that would get worse than ever, now that someone had actually gotten the drop on him.

"Ten minutes," Madame Pomfrey allowed with a small smile she tried to hide.

So she pulled open the curtain and found an awful looking ex-auror.

"Bloody hell, Mad-Eye," she exclaimed and sat next to his bed. "You starve yourself?"

"Tried to," he rumbled. "Bastard wouldn't let me."

From the looks of it, he'd lost 25 pounds at least – which given his scarred skin looked horrible. Said skin was pale and thin from lack of daylight and nutrition. Patches of his hair had very obviously been cut and shaved off.

"With any luck he'll get killed within the next two days," she muttered, angry all over again. That's how long it would take the auror office to get him back to Azkaban. If he attempted an escape then, they had licence to kill him.

"I'm sorry, lass," Mad-Eye said. The man that never apologised.

"No, I am," Marina shook her head. "I should have figured it out sooner."

"Albus didn't," the grouch growled and shifted uncomfortably. "How should you have?"

"Seriously?" she huffed and glared at the matress. "He was putting on a damn good act but there were still signs. I should have known. You taught be better than this."

Silence reigned for a few minutes, both of them wallowing in their respective self-blame. Then Marina took a breath and forced herself to ask.

"Mad-Eye... how in Merlin's name did he get the drop on you?"

"He didn't," the ex-auror grumbled – and something about his tone warned her that she wouldn't at all like what he would say next.

"Somebody did."

"Aye. Voldemort."

Marina sat there and stared at her mentor for what felt like minutes, but was only a few seconds.

"You... you're telling me he was in London?"

If so, that took nerve.

"Aye. Didn't look much like himself but it was him."

A chill rang down her spine. Something Harry had told her before the World Cup came to mind.

 _I had a dream last night. Wormtail, Crouch and Bellatrix were there... with Him. He wants me, Marina. He killed a muggle that found them. And he didn't look human..._

"How long are you going to let Madame Pomfrey do her job?" she asked Mad-Eye casually but was feeling anything but.

"Another day or two. Then I'm outta here and doing _my_ job. Why?"

"Because I need you to start training Harry _**now**_ , Mad-Eye. Crouch didn't enter us into the Tournament for nothing."

"According to Nott, the lad did alright so far."

"Because he seems to have no fear once he's actually in danger. But that will only get him so far. I need you to give him a crash course."

* * *

And so it was decided. Marina should probably have apologised to Madame Pomfrey for giving Mad-Eye a reason to resist treatment even sooner, but she couldn't ignore the knot of worry.

Harry, to her surprise, had argued against extra training. It was Dad who'd caught on and sat down to talk privatley to his son – Merlin, that still sounded weird, and yet right somehow.

Turned out her brother just wanted to avoid even more gossip and attention. Being tutored by Moody would cause exactly that but their father had spent about an hour talking things out, until it had boiled down to the inevitable question: what was more important to Harry? Avoiding the rumours or being as prepared as he could be for what was to come?

So now Harry, Ron, Hermione, Susan, Draco, Theo, Daphne and her sister Astoria, Neville and Hannah would join Marina and the other advanced sixth-years in their extra session; Wednesday, 2nd period. They could help train the kids while learning something themselves. Mad-Eye had been surprisingly accomodating about including Harry's friends but Remus might have had something to do with that.

But first, there was the matter of Crouch Jr and his imminent return to hell.

David and Elias had contacted Amelia personally and asked her permission (and subsequent orders) that they be assigned to stay as security until the lunatic was out of the castle. Given her nieces' close proximity, Marina hadn't been surprised at Amelia's hasty confirmation.

Meanwhile, the _Prophet_ – or should she say Rita Skeeter – had of course made it their new mission to analyse just what had to have gone wrong for an insane Death Eater like Crouch to not only overcome Mad-Eye but the castle's security as well. In between, she kept getting digs in that David and Elias maybe hadn't been as focused on their job as they should have been, instead showing more concern about their girlfriends.

Marina had sent a Howler in response. There was only so much restraint anyone could have and that woman was driving her round the bend more than the Death Eaters.

She couldn't have seen Skeeter's next move coming, though, since she'd been as oblivious as everyone else. In the evening edition, the despicable woman had taken her gossip column about the love lives at Hogwarts to a whole new level:

Skeeter suggested that not only was Marina dating David, longtime paramour to Curse Breaker Jenna Hastings, but also seeing Viktor Krum on the side.

Viktor, who'd been seen around the castle a lot with Elvira Rookwood – and Hermione Granger.

Hermione, who was allegedly busy breaking the Seeker's heart, as well as Harry's.

Even though a source reported that Harry had asked out Cho Chang – Cederic's new girlfriend.

Needless to say, reading that article Marina hadn't known whether to send the witch a hexed letter or laugh hysterically at the nonsense of it all. She wondered if this was what a Boggart felt like after getting hit with the Riddikulus. As if she'd fallen into twilight zone.

Of course, there was the troubling fact of the matter that while the witch's allegations were ridiculous, her facts were spot-on.

Harry did like Cho and had asked her out, not knowing Cederic had beaten him to it. Cho had let him down very gently apparently.

Viktor was to be seen with Elvira because the two got along great and unless Marina missed her guess, there was some romance developing. Merlin knew it was about time for her grumpy friend to meet someone who liked him for himself, not his fame. And he couldn't care less about Elvira's infamy due to her father.

Hermione had been seen with him because she'd volunteered to play messenger when Marina had wanted to avoid exactly these kinds of rumours. And Karkaroff's glares.

The question was-

"Where the hell does she keep getting all this?" Carmen muttered under her breath, tossing the paper aside, voicing Marina's thoughts.

"A few months ago I would have said the Slytherins," Marina sighed. "But Draco and Theo would have heard and told us."

"Plus, someone would have noticed that _cyka_ on the grounds," Irina butted in with a growl. Marina didn't ask but the word didn't sound nice.

Charlie had dragged the two of them along to the dragon enclosure – a day after all the exitement and the beasts were actually relatively calm. David and Elias had joined them an hour ago. They'd been sleeping in after standing guard at Crouch's cell all last night and this morning. The dragonologists had decided they needed a distraction and so here they were.

Irina had spent the last two hours passing the 'friends-test'. Apparently wanting to make a good impression on Charlie's best friends outside the reservoir, she'd endured a lot of questions.

She was only a few months younger than her boyfriend and had attended Koldovstoretz – the Russian Wizarding School. That was possibly the reason why she wasn't much for Quidditch; at her school they played it on whole uprooted trees. Her parents had intended for her to take over the family business in Siberia, but much like Charlie she'd only ever been intersted in Magizoology. She'd come to the reservoir for a summer internship and decided to specialise in dragons. Irina was an only child and her family had money, but for all that she was remarkably grounded. She and Charlie seemed to be absolutely perfect for each other. Hopefully, Molly would agree.

But for all the questioning, Marina could tell both aurors were smitten by the Russian. It was hard finding any fault with her when Charlie was so obviously crazy about her.

"Someone needs to put a permanent Silencing Charm on that woman," Carmen muttered.

"Wouldn't do much good with that quill of hers," Marina grumbled and laid back on the grass. If anyone would have told her yesterday she'd ever be relaxed this close to the dragons...

"I want to know how she knows everything that goes on here," Carmen maintained with a huff. "You didn't even know Cederic and Cho were dating until they told you to check on Harry. So how does she?"

"We're going to have to start checking the Map regularly. Then maybe we'll catch her."

* * *

"Be careful," Marina said quietly as she said goodbye to David. Yet another pair of aurors had arrived to help him and Elias escort Crouch back to Azkaban. The fact that a single, unarmed, wizard warranted this kind of precaution was not comforting at all.

"There is another team coming," David told her just as quietly and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Just in case."

In case her fruitcake of a cousin would try and get her master's favourite out of custody.

"Has anyone actually figured out how they escaped in the first place?" she questioned and held onto David's robes so she wouldn't do something stupid. "Sending him to the place that lost him before does not inspire confidence."

"The Ministry doesn't want anyone to know," David said slowly. "Not all dementors are under our control. Looks like Voldemort convinced a few rogue ones to free some of his assets and promised them free reign in exchange."

"Brilliant." If the Ministry thought they were actually controling the bloody creatures, then they were delusional. As far as she was concerned, the Dementors played along until something better came their way. Like say, an evil wizard with aspirations to take over the world.

"There are three more aurors stationed as wardens now," David assured her. Or tried to at least.

"I didn't _see_ Bellatrix making a move, but doesn't mean anything," Marina mumbled and buried her face in his chest, audience be damned. "If she shows..."

As if David's testimony against her wasn't enough of a reason for her cousin to target him, thanks to Skeeter the world now knew that Marina loved him. It put even more of a target on his back.

"Better me than you," he said, adamant. He still wasn't over the bit about Bella wanting her as a prize.

She knew better than to argue. The stubborn streak was common in his family; not that she was any better, she supposed.

The kids, her friends and Marina then stood back and watched the newly arrived pair of aurors drag a grinning Crouch out of the dungeons. Apparently, he'd been laughing the entire two days he'd spent in the cell. He and Bella had a lot in common.

"Come on," she said when the maniac started chuckling while being chained and muted. "Let's get back to classes. He's had too much of our attention already."

* * *

 _ **Two weeks later...**_

"Say what?" Marina stared at her brother dumbfounded. She must have misheard.

"McGonagall said that the Champions have to dance at the Yule Ball. First dance."

Harry sounded utterly miserable about it too. Possibly because neither one of them could dance, never mind that three schools would be watching.

"And she tells us this _now_? The Ball is in two weeks." Barely.

Their so-called friends were all laughing at their expense. Where in the name of Merlin and Morgana was she going to get a date in two weeks' notice? She hadn't planned on taking anybody since she couldn't very well ask David.

"Okay," Carmen said loudly and gathered everyone's attention. "Who's taking who?"

"Katie," Fred announced at the same time as George said, "Angelina."

Neither one of the girls protested so Marina assumed the twins had actually already bothered to ask. It was progress.

"I'm taking Sam," Lee added, clearly proud of himself. He was so biting off more than he could chew with the Ravenclaw Beater.

"Viktor is taking Elvira," Marina volunteered when the girl stayed silent – she was promptly met with startled eyes.

"He asked my permission," she explained and rolled her eyes. "Because of Skeeter's article. He doesn't want to make it worse."

"I asked Ginny," Neville said quietly and blushed bright red immediately. Surprisingly, none of her brothers reacted at all. Fourth-years and above were all invited to the Ball; everything below needed an invitation as plus-one.

"So we're leaving Ty in the cold?" Harry asked. "He won't like that much."

"I'll go with him," Hannah offered, pink staining her cheeks. "If he wants, that is. I was gonna go alone, but..."

"Draco and Theo offered to take us," Daphne said and slung an arm around her younger sister.

Of course. The Greengrass sisters were capable, smart, _nice_ and purebloods. The boys would be having a good time and wouldn't damage their Slytherin reputations.

"Jolene?" Carmen asked their Hufflepuff friend.

"One of the Durmstrangs asked me," she admitted, twisting her auburn hair nervously. As far as Marina knew, she'd never dated before.

"Trish?"

"Me too," she nodded. "Viktor was there too and didn't say anything so I said yes."

Her friend had taken to warning her friends away from the... darker students of his school.

"Okay, then. Don't take this the wrong way, but back to the main problem.

I know you'd planned to go solo, so who are you taking, Harry?" Marina asked after they'd worked through all their friends – who all had a date, ironically enough. Well, except Carmen.

To her amazement, Harry sensed nervous and apologetic at the same time.

"Well...," he hedged, clearly uncomfortable, "... once I knew I had to bring someone..."

"He asked me," Hermione finished, putting him out of his misery. "As friends."

"Same with Ron and me," Susan added quickly – to stop everyone from gawking, she imagined.

That certainly explained Harry's nerves. It would fuel the rumours Skeeter had started.

"Well, then. I suppose I better get a move on and find a date."

* * *

Later that day, it was the first time in what felt like months that she and Harry were alone. Everybody was busy doing homework, or training – or discussing what they'd wear to the Ball. The two of them were doing their respective Runes homework; not just because it needed to get done, because it was somewhat calming work.

"I like Hermione," Harry suddenly said, as if defending himself.

Marina raised her brows.

"I'd hope so. She's your best friend."

"And I _know_ she's a girl and pretty, just..." He trailed off, shrugging helplessly. Ah, the struggles of a teenage boy talking about his feelings. Luckily, she knew what he was trying to say.

"You feel guilty because you just asked her because you had to take someone."

He deflated like a balloon that had been pricked.

"What if someone would have asked her as... you know, a date? What if she's mad?"

Marina stared at him and debated what to do. Between him and Ron, she was fairly sure they never debated their _feelings_. And they sure wouldn't talk to the girls, or vice versa.

She also knew that Ron wasn't nearly as callous about girls' feelings as he pretended to be; the fool just wanted to look cool to his friends – she blamed his brothers for that attitude. Harry, however, had always remained silent and had stayed out of it all. More than once she'd sensed his discomfort at how his best friend treated the girls.

Marina didn't know whether is was progress he'd broached the subject, or if she was entering a dangerous territory here. And just how was she supposed to answer that? She knew perfectly well what Hermione was feeling, but imagined the girl wouldn't appreciate her telling Harry.

What a minefield.

"Did she seem mad?" she asked her brother calmly and put down her quill. This conversation needed focus.

"No. But Hermione doesn't really get mad at me. Just... disappointed." He pulled a face at that last bit. His friend only got disappointed with him when she had reason; he didn't like that apparently.

"Well, what did you say when you asked her?" Marina asked and braced herself for the worst. Boys a lot older, and more experienced with girls than Harry, sometimes were complete idiots when talking to girls. And given how nervous he still was just talking about it, she didn't think her brother had done much better.

"I told her that I hadn't planned on taking anyone – I don't dance," he added as if he needed to tell her that. "But since I had to take someone, I wanna go with a friend. Someone I won't make myself a prat in front of."

That was... remarkably good.

"And what did she say?"

"That she didn't dance either but she'll of course go with me. Then she mumbled that I wouldn't laugh," he added with a confused frown. Marina wasn't touching that one. He'd just have to figure out for himself that Hermione was starting to feel like a girl, not just a sponge eager to absorb any knowledge she could find.

"She's not mad at you," she circled back to the beginning of this discussion. "You actually did really good."

"Well," he cleared his throat and fidgeted in his seat, suddenly unbearably embarassed.

"What?"

"Sirius and Remus gave me the talk this summer," he admitted, his face turning scarlet. "How to treat girls and … you know."

Marina's own face blushed bright red. She remembered Dromeda giving her that talk all too well. It was embarassing as hell to girls, who were generally used to talk about feelings more, but for a boy... and the two men giving the talk? She shuddered.

"Glad I wasn't around for that," she said. "They do know you're not interested yet, right?"

"I told them that, but Padfoot said better safe than sorry," Harry mumbled, relaxing a bit. Given the fact that Marina had been an accident, she could see where her father was coming from.

"Do me favour," she said and picked up her quill again. "When you do start liking girls that way, use Occlumency around me, please."

Harry looked at her sharply at that.

"You sense all that too?"

"Yep. It got worse last year when, you know, all my friends started dating. But after a while I can focus on other emotions and ignore it."

But she didn't _**want**_ to know when her brother started getting interested.

* * *

 _ **December 25**_ _ **th**_ _ **1994**_

She didn't deserve her friends, that was for sure.

The girls had banded together behind her back and started asking around who might be willing to take her to the damn Ball. Just when she'd been about to ask one of Viktor's friends – who she knew had a girl at home – Logan Dodge had approached her and asked if she'd go with him. She knew he was dating a fellow Hufflepuff named Reya. They'd both assured her that it was fine.

Marina had been cutting it close and had accepted, with the promise that after the opening dance Reya would get her boyfriend back.

Her dress robes had been a present from the Tonks – in fact they had all gotten their robes for Christmas, from all the parents.

Marina had just finished putting on her sheath-cut gown in sea-green (only two or so shades darker than her eyes) and white-gold jewelry, before meeting the others.

Harry's robes looked a lot like his school robes, just completely green. Ron's were exactly the same except in a warm walnut brown.

Carmen was wearing a mermaid-cut gown in azure blue, without holders and complete with her golden jewelry.

Susan had chosen an empire-cut gown in black – which looked absolutely amazing against her pale skin.

Hermione, however, was the real eye-catcher tonight. Her basque-waist gown was scarlet red, only highlighted by the golden jewelry. And for the first time since Marina had met her, the girl's hair was tamed and twirled in an elaborate updo. She looked amazing.

Harry, for his part, smiled and handed her the corsage with roses he'd gotten her. He was still feeling a bit guilty.

Thankfully, Ron seemed to have been concerned about how it must have looked too and had gone with Harry to purchase an orchid corsage for Susan.

The girls shot each other an amused look but accepted with thanks anyway.

"I owe you one for this," she told Logan as they made their way into the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione were right behind them. Viktor and Elvira were ahead and talking happily. She'd never heard the man talk so much, ever. Up front was Fleur with Roger Davis.

"Nah. Just tell your auror I'm taken," he teased and she shook her head.

"David knows I have to open the damn Ball. He had to read the rant."

"Skeeter is here, you know," Logan said after hesitating for a second.

"Yes, and I'm sure she'll collect enough ammunition for another one of her ridiculous articles. We've all agreed to just ignore her. Otherwise we might just have to hex her for real."

When they took their places on the dinner tables – she'd insisted Logan eat with Reya – Harry and Marina were subjected to Percy. Evidently, he'd been promoted and was standing in for Crouch.

She didn't pay much attention to his self-important blabber though, when she spotted her father. With Hestia on his arm.

A grin spread across her face. Her Dad was wearing dress robes as black as his hair but with a scarlet tie. Hestia was dressed completely gold – shoes to hairpin. _Finally_.

Remus was there too, his dress robes all black. It had certainly taken the two of them long enough to let Marina in on the fact that several families had hired Remus as a private tutor for their younger children after the older kids had argued on his behalf long enough.

Then Dumbledore stood and everyone quieted down. Harry sighed. _Here we go..._

* * *

 **A/N: In case anyone was wondering, the Weasleys aren't poor in my AU. Just not rich either.**


	30. Revelations

"Focus," Mad-Eye growled irritable as ever.

It was their first extra lesson after the holidays and the kids had trouble concentrating on the spells at hand.

Marina could hardly blame them. Everyone was still full of Yuletide cheer, after the Ball had gone off without a hitch. They'd spent the entire next day basking in their new presents and generally having a good time. Dad and Hestia had been subtle about it, but they needn't have bothered: even the kids could tell that they'd rekindled their relationship.

The Tonks had stopped by as well and stayed the day, Dora being uncharactaristically quiet.

On New Year's they'd all gone out on the grounds and had celebrated, with even the teachers joining in. All week had been nothing but bliss.

So naturally, bad news had followed. As it turned out, Crouch had done more than just enter their names: the dragons had originally not supposed to have been breeding females protecting their clutches. He'd added that tidbit to make it more dangerous – according to Dumbledore, the tasks were fed into the Goblet as well, that's how the damn thing was ignited. Crouch had somehow changed them before doing it. And now nobody, not even the judges, knew what exactly to expect. The Ministry had deemed it necessary to tell them that.

It had resulted in everyone being even more worried about what was to follow, and Marina realised that it was about damn time she opened that egg. Putting it off was no longer an option.

She blinked and the practice dummy the kids were aiming their new spells at burst into pieces.

"Well done, Granger," Moody growled – which from him was high praise indeed – and Hermione beamed. Harry grinned at her obvious enthusiam; DADA was the only subject he was better than her at and she didn't like being behind.

"Let's see how you do with fire next," the ex-Auror continued and Marina stilled. She exchanged a look with Carmen. _This should get intersting._

* * *

"You could have told me," Harry maintained half an hour later. His natural talent for fire-spells had shown pretty quickly and he'd managed to impress even Mad-Eye; that was almost impossible.

"You didn't need to know yet," she replied and mentally called herself a hypocrite. But Harry didn't know about Carmen's ability, so she'd told him she'd _**seen**_ it instead.

"Besides, we have other things to worry about than you being a firecracker," she reminded him. "We need to figure out those eggs."

"Yes. Who knows what Crouch added to the tasks..."

But Marina noticed that Harry wasn't quite as worried as he probably should be. Beating the dragon had definitely bolstered his confidence.

"Don't get comfortable," Mad-Eye growled on cue, and they all winced since they'd forgotten he was still there. "The dragon was number one of three. You can't relax 'till this bloody tournament is over."

"Do you teachers at least have any ideas what Crouch added, yet?" Marina questioned, saving Harry from having to come up with a reply. It was lose-lose really.

"No. He was careful."

"How did he do it?" Harry asked slowly, sounding like he was tossing thoughts around in his head. "He pretended to be you, but how did he get to the Goblet before then?"

Mad-Eye stilled, his magical eye fixated on Harry, and Marina could all but see the wheels turning in his head. It was a good question.

"It ignited the before Crouch got here," Hermione picked up Harry's thought with a frown. She wondered if the younger witch even noticed that she was flexing her hands like she would be flexing her claws as a cat.

"He must have had an accomplice," Susan suggested, scrunching her nose a little in distaste.

"Risky," Ron commented. "A second player could have messed up or gotten caught." The redhead had the same expression he always had playing chess.

"The Imperius," Marina ended their discussion eventually. "He must have controlled someone. Or used Voldemort as a threat." She'd already thought on it a lot.

"Suspects?" Mad-Eye grumbled, swirling his eye to look at her.

"Well, as far as threatening someone into submission goes, I'd say Karkaroff. The man is getting twitchier by the day, coward that he is.

No one's been acting suspicious enough to suspect an Imperius, but I suppose he would have ordered his victim to act normal. If he had free reign, I'd check out his father."

"Because he hates him and Crouch has access," Harry concluded, but still made it sound like a question.

"Nicely done," Mad-Eye grinned – which made him look worse. "You should consider following your godfather's and sister's footsteps. You'd make a good auror."

Marina groaned and lightly punched the grouch on the arm.

"Ignore him, Harry. You do whatever you wanna do after school." Dad was so going to kill her if Harry came home with aspirations to become an auror.

But Marina couldn't deny that Mad-Eye was right. Harry certainly had the makings of an Auror and the mindset to boot. She just hoped that by the time he had to decide, he wouldn't want to be one.

* * *

She was sitting in the library, studying up on the Bubblehead Charm, when the Daily Prophet arrived.

She had opened the egg right after the training. All that came out was a lot of screeching noise. But she had been studying Mermish for a while now and had known to open the damn thing again under water. She'd told Harry too. After dropping some hints, she'd found out that Viktor and Fleur had also known what to do.

What they'd discovered, once able to understand the Mermish, was a riddle:

 _ **Come seek us where our voices sound,**_ **  
** _ **We cannot sing above the ground,**_ **  
** _ **And while you're searching ponder this;**_ **  
** _ **We've taken what you'll sorely miss,**_ **  
** _ **An hour long you'll have to look,**_ **  
** _ **And to recover what we took,**_

 _ **But danger lurks within our realm,**_

 _ **You'll have to fight to stake your claim,**_ **  
** _ **P**_ _ **a**_ _ **st an hour, the prospect's bleak,**_ **  
** _ **Too late, you'll never find what you seek.**_

Charming, really.

The Bubblehead looked like a fishbowl put over your face but it let you breathe underwater for however long you needed. It was N.E.W.T. level and Harry had asked Carmen to teach him, right before Neville had offered an alternative. Gillyweed would give him gills and fins for an hour, and it was a lot easier getting it than learning the Bubblehead.

Now they only had to figure out just what – or who – the merpeople would steal away and how to get them back. Crouch Jr would have made sure the collateral would be people.

But all her concern faded away when she unfolded the paper after feeding the owl and saw the headline:

" _ **DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE**_

 _Albus Dumbledore_ _, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. A habit that he now endeavours to teach his students as well. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kind when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach_ _Care of Magical Creatures._

 _[…]_

 _T_ _he_ Daily Prophet _has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not – as he has always pretended – a pure blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror. While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature._

 _..."_

Marina stopped reading and could only stare. How in the name of magic had that woman found out Hagrid was half giant? She only knew because Harry and Ron had overheard him talking to Madame Maxime about it. This was going to cause a lot of trouble.

* * *

After Transfiguration Marina hurried to lunch. Harry and the others had just had double Care of Magical Creatures – and would have realised that Hagrid was nowhere to be found.

As expected, when she joined the table, then trio was debating just how in the world Skeeter had found out. Susan was over at the Hufflepuff table with Hannah, reading the _Prophet_ and looking outraged.

"Stop," she interrupted the kids before they could launch into another round. "We'll deal with Skeeter some other time. We have bigger problems coming up. Plus, I'm guessing none of you have started revising yet."

"The O.W.L.s are _next_ year," Ron pointed out stubbornly.

"And just how much time do you think you'll have to study next year?" Angelina chimed in next to her. "They'll bury you in assignments and homework. Use the time you have now."

"Susan and I came up with a plan," Hermione announced somewhat proudly and placed a sheet of paper on the table. It looked a lot like the study plan Carmen had come up for them two years ago.

"You planned in Quidditch?" Harry asked, sounding surprised.

"Of course. You two play Quidditch, Susan and I'll cook."

Marina had been blindsided by Ted's letter in which he'd informed her that the girls had approached him for muggle cooking lessons. Between him and Dromeda they'd learn all there was to know about preparing meals. The Tonks had gotten permission to come here once a week to instruct.

As if there weren't all busy enough.

* * *

Hogsmeade. She'd never been so tempted to skip a weekend but she was meeting David.

Marina had received a letter from Amelia yesterday, with several protective charms to ensure only she could read it, and was still not sure how to feel about it.

The Head of Magical Law Enforcement had informed her that, due some curiosity in the Ministry of late, she had registered the whole lot of them as animagi. She supposed it was a miracle that Amelia had agreed to keep it quiet this long, given that it was illegal. She'd also written that while she'd registered them all, she hadn't revealed what animals they turned into. Apparently, she'd found a loophole in the laws and made use of it.

So their secret weapons were still somewhat secret, but now the Death Eaters knew they were animagi and could plan accordingly. _**Bellatrix**_ could. That probably explained why Amelia had apologised five times in as many sentences.

Additionally, Marina had asked Mad-Eye to teach them any and all spells he could come up with that would be useful underwater. He'd stared at her for a minute, then he'd agreed to get on it for their next extra lesson. He had to know what Harry and she wanted the spells for. _Bloody Tournament._

But her desire to stay in the castle was rooted in something else. She had received yet another letter today, from an Advocate. All matters of her grandpa's inheritence and the asset transfer to her father had been taken care of, with advice from Talib, so Marina had not been worried and opened the letter. She hadn't read it though. Because the second she saw the handwriting, she'd burst into tears.

It was from her mother.

Marina was not prepared for whatever message her Mum was sending her from her grave. She hadn't slept since October, had been a nervous wreck since November and things weren't likely to get better anytime soon. She wanted to stay and hole up in the Gryffindor tower where no one would witness her likely breakdown.

But she didn't want to face whatever it was alone. She had no energy left for that, so she would be doing what she hadn't done in a long time: ask for help.

Even though it was David, that still didn't sit right with her. She'd have to get over that chip on her shoulder sooner rather than later.

The _Three Broomsticks_ was packed as always. Everyone was enjoying themselves and most likely having a blast, trying to figure out what the Second Task would be. Harry and his friends were sitting in a corner, not looking so happy. Hagrid was still not coming out of his hut.

David was sitting at the opposite side of the pub and writing reports, from the looks of it. She gestured Rosmerta for a buttebeer and joined him.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked as soon as she'd sat down. He was getting really good at seeing right through her.

Marina told herself to stop being a chicken already and pulled the letter out, showing it to him. David had seen enough of the journals to recognise her mother's handwriting.

He drew in a sharp breath and waved his wand, magically packing all his stuff away.

"It came this morning from her advocate's office," she said qietly just as her butterbeer settled in front of her.

"She must have given instructions," David said gently and reached over, taking her hand.

"Yes. Almost as if she knew she was going to die."

Her father had left the letter to her younger self because he'd been preparing to play decoy. Ther had been a very real possibility that he wouldn't survive. But her mother had been under the Fidelius with James and Lily, presumably safe.

Marina took a gulp of her beer and set the bottle down with a shaking hand. David watched with wide eyes – it was more of a reaction than she normally ever showed.

"I don't wanna open it alone," she admitted quietly, blinking against her burning eyes. She hadn't cried in public in forever, damn it.

Immediately, David pulled his chair over to hers – against all his Auror training since his back was now turned to the door – and put his hand on her thigh, pulling it against his.

"Wanna get out of here?" he asked quietly and pressed his forhead against her hair.

"Might as well get it over with," Marina mumbled, clutching onto his emotions like a lifeline. "It won't get any easier somewhere else."

So she reached out and opened the letter, leaning into David. She laid her head on his shoulder and held the parchment for both of them to see.

* * *

" _Marina, my angel,_

 _I can't explain everything I need you to know in this letter, but unfortunately it'll have to do. According to my instructions, this will find you when you are sixteen. I hope with all my heart that your father survived his absolutely insane plan and is there to help you wheather the storm. My_ _ **Seeings**_ _didn't tell me as much._

 _First of all, I need to tell you something that I never even told your father or our friends. The only one who knows is Lily, and she has kept my secret._

 _I am not a muggle-born as everyone believed – and I never corrected them, because I never cared about that._

 _My great-great-grandmother was Cassandra Trelawney. Her daughter married an American and moved there, taking his name. My father didn't have the Sight and only told me about our ancestry after we moved back to England, when my mother wanted to go home – she was a muggle-born. It was in my fourth year in Hogwarts. Our gift comes from one of the strongest Seers in wizarding history._

 _I tell you this because I imagine you might have the same problems handling your Sight as I used to have. If you have questions, contact Pheora Hayes – my third cousin. She still lives in America, but she knows about you and will help._

 _My sweet girl. There is a simple reason I never told Sirius about it. The premonitions are my burden to bear, and if I'd told him he would have started to recognise the signs of my Seeings. He feels so guilty for not loving me that he would risk anything to make it up to me. Your father is a good man, Marina. One of the best I have ever met._

 _That is why I didn't want him to know what I saw. I'm not certain just how it will happen, but I know that I won't survive this war. Some premonitions can be changed, but this one is set in stone. I am so sorry that I won't be there to see you grow up._

 _But as sure as I am that I won't survive, I know that you will._

 _Maybe you're still too young for what I am about to tell you, but I think the sooner you know, the better prepeared you will be. The better prepared your father will be._

 _A few weeks after you were born Pheora came to visit. Your father was on assignment, which is why he doesn't know about it. The moment she stroked your head, she had a premonition:_

 _ **The one who knows our hearts has arrived … born to one who hides her power and one who gives his to others, never himself; born along with the seventh month... and she will stand with our Chosen against the Darkest Evil... and she must chose whether to face a battle of great pain to her soul... either she will strike down her enemy or fall at the loyal evil's hand... born along with the seventh month...**_

 _I don't know who the Chosen is, but I am assuming that by the time you get this, you might._

 _Upon my insistance, Pheora gave me her Vow never to speak to anyone about this but you. She has mastered her gift enough to actually remember what she_ sees _._

 _Remember, honey, prophecies are a precarious thing; nothing is ever clear or straightforward. But the fact that she made it when she touched you... the one thing we can be sure about is that it is about you._

 _If my Seeings are true, and it seems likely considering how detailed they are, then Harry will come out of this war as well. Your godbrother will need you, angel. I didn't actually_ _ **see**_ _anything concerning him – other than his survival – but my instincts tell me that he will have some very hard times ahead of him._

 _Don't ever give up fighting, Marina. No matter how hard it seems, there are many things in this world worth living for. I hope that someday you'll find someone you'll trust with everything you are, including this. We can't face the world alone._

 _So when you tell your father about this, tell Sirius to find love. We never had what James and Lily had, and that wasn't his fault. If he had returned my feelings, he would have loved a lie; he deserves better. My memory won't be tarnished by him not being miserable. Even without loving me, he gave me everything he could. Take care of each other. Take care of Harry._

 _Love always,_

 _Mum_ "

* * *

Marina was infinitely grateful for the privacy bubble David had cast, as she was sobbing uncontrollably.

The emotions clinging to the parchment were like daggers to her heart. Her mother had known she was going to die soon, and the resignation and fear had been poured into every word she had written. She'd probably known Lily and James would die, too.

She felt a wand knocking her on the head and knew David had disillusioned her. He pulled her up, threw galleons on the table, and pulled her out of the pub. They walked a few minutes, until they were out of earshot from everyone, before he reversed the spell and pulled her into his arms.

She couldn't stop crying for half an hour.

When she was able to pull herself together, she saw they were halfway between Hogsmeade and the school, sitting on a rock. She hadn't even noticed moving anywhere. Mad-Eye would be apalled.

"Knowing she was going to die must have been a hard secret to keep," David said eventually, stroking her back, still hugging her.

"Harder still if she knew James and Lily weren't going to make it," Marina agreed quietly, hoarse from crying.

"Why wouldn't she have told them?"

"Because some things you can't stop. If she'd told them, she might have just gotten them killed sooner. And then Harry wouldn't have survived that night."

All this was why she absolutely hated her Sight. What was the point of getting to know the future if you couldn't do anything about it?

"There is some sort of symbol at the end," David told her and pulled out the letter. He was right.

Her mother had drawn a tiny rose on the edge of the parchment. Marina recognised it for what it was.

"She knew I'd get it from the journals. She infused a memory into the letter," she explained and sat up straight. If she'd survived, her mother would have made one hell of an Obliviator, what with her talent for memory spells.

She waved her wand in the movements she'd used dozens of times before and unlocked the memory. David and she were sucked in immediately.

* * *

 _(September 26_ _th_ _1981)_

" _He'll never accept it," Lily sighed and leaned back in the chair. She was sitting in Rose' apartment at the kitchen table._

" _Not now and not from us," Rose agreed and sat down as well, pushing a cup of tea over to her best friend. "But I'll bet he'd accept it from the kids."_

 _Lily raised her eyebrows. She looked exhausted, her red hair barely combed and dark circled underneath her eyes._

" _Have you met Remus?" she questioned ironically. "He won't accept money from his best friends, what makes you think he'd take it from his goddaughter?"_

Marina and David looked at each other, confused. Remus? Money?

" _She won't give him a choice," Rose said with absolute certainty and Lily's eyes widened in understanding._

" _You had a Seeing?"_

" _Yes. He'll take it, believe me. My daughter inherited her father's stubborness."_

" _Oh, I think she's got double. You're just as bad as he is," Lily huffed, but her eyes sparkled with a smile._

" _Alright then. Arcturus already told me that he'll make Marina his heir, unless Sirius comes to his senses."_

" _Doubtful," Lily shook her head. "He wants nothing to do with his family. But it does leave Kitten with a nice safety net."_

" _Which is why I'm signing my savings over to Remus. He won't know it until Marina signs it over to him. It'll have doubled by the time he accepts it."_

The shadow in her mother's eyes told her that she'd already had the Seeing and knew she wasn't going to survive. Which was likely why they were discussing her inheritence.

" _I'll add mine too," Lily said, determined. "He'll just have to get over it."_

" _What about Harry?" Rose asked nonchalantly and sipped from her cup._

But Marina could see the tension in her hands and shoulders. She reached left and gripped David's hand hard. Her mother had known Lily was going to die. That's why she'd included the memory. She couldn't bring herself to write it down and admit it.

" _James' parents left him a fortune and we've never touched it," Lily replied. "He'll be f..."_

 _The redhead didn't finish, suddenly as pale as any ghost, and looked at her best friend – who had a very hard time meeting her eyes._

 _They looked at each other for what felt like hours, a sense of finalty settling in the room._

" _Are you sure?" Lily eventually whispered, her voice trembling._

" _I'm never sure," Rose answered just as quietly. "That's the problem with the damn Seeings. But... just in case..."_

She'd lied to her best friend's face to make her feel better. And so Lily wouldn't try and change the future and potentially make it worse. Fresh tears were running down Marina's face.

 _Lily's posture straightened, a grim kind of determination filling her face._

" _Well, then there's no use in telling James. No need to be even more afraid than we already are," she decided before adding, "And just in case, we make sure the people we love are taken care of."_

 _The women briefly gripped each other's hands, in silent understanding and commiseration, before they started on the legal papers in front of them, signing their personal assets over to Remus as their heir._

 _Only about a minute after they'd gotten done and had sent it all to their advocates and Gringotts,the front door opened. Shortly after, James and Sirius entered the room – carrying each other's kid. The women smiled._

" _Momma!" little Marina grinned exitedly, waving a toy wand. "Uncle Prongs!" She pointed at the wand, then at James, and hugged her godfather around the neck. James grinned like a fool._

" _You bought her a wand?" Rose asked skeptically but couldn't help the smile._

" _Padfoot bought Harry a broomstick," James countered dryly and looked at his son, who was giggling at Sirius' playful growling when he pulled at his long hair._

 _Then the four of them settled in, playing with their children together. Almost as if they knew it was the last day of peace they'd ever get._

* * *

David and Marina were tossed out of the memory and looked at each other silently, completely stunned. The memory had been the day before her Dad had written his goodbye letter to her.

She just couldn't process what they'd just seen. Lily had _known_. She'd gone under the Fidelius and pretended they were safe, for James' sanity's sake probably, even though she'd known it wasn't the case. Hoping against all odds that her best friend's Seeing had been wrong.

How in the name of all magic was she supposed to tell Harry that?


	31. Round 2

Harry POV

"She's acting very strange," he commented close to the end of their latest extra session with Moody.

None of the others had questioned why he had taught them underwater spells today, and Harry felt reasonably sure that they'd be fine during the Second Task. At least if they didn't get any more surprises than they were already expecting.

But Marina had been avoiding him for close to a week. He'd only found out about her breaking down and crying in Hogsmeade because Skeeter had made sure to spin a sordid tale out of it. All the while he'd been sitting in Hagrid's hut, convincing him to come back.

They only had three weeks left until the next round and she was avoiding him.

"Probably embarrassed about Hogsmeade," Ron said and fixed the singed sleeve of his robe.

"She wouldn't avoid Harry for that," Susan disagreed and pulled her hair back into a fresh ponytail.

"It's not just Harry," Hermione chimed in and put away her wand. "I heard the girls talking before. She's avoiding Sirius too, not answering his letters."

At that, Harry straightened. Avoiding him was one thing, but avoiding her father meant trouble. Normally, she grinned like the Cheshire cat every time she got a letter from home – so what was going on that she was avoiding Padfoot?

"Less gossip, more cleaning up," Moody growled behind them and made them jump. They were supposed to be tidying up the class room.

"Professor-" Hermione started but the man cut her off.

"I heard. Whatever it is, Black can handle herself. Now go."

* * *

"What is going on, lass?" Mad-Eye asked her and she sighed. It had only been a matter of time before someone called her out on her behaviour as of late.

"Nothing you need to worry about," she replied and sent the last of the desks back to their rightful places.

"Potter worries," he grumbled and Marina closed her eyes.

Of course he'd be worried after she'd avoided him for two weeks now.

"He should be focusing on the Tournament," she countered and sheathed her wand.

"Aye. But he won't as long as he's wondering what's wrong with you."

"Wednesday is the full moon and we're going home for it," she sighed and faced her mentor. "I'll tell him and Dad then."

Merlin knew she was not looking forward to that conversation at all.

After calming down somewhat, she'd made appointments with the advocate and the goblins. Then she'd gone to Dumbledore and requested permission to leave school to deal with the mess her mother had dropped on her. He'd granted it.

David had taken those days off and accompanied her of course, despite her protest.

Lily and her mother had stayed true to their decision and had signed over all their personal savings to a new account, with her in charge of it but Remus named as heir. It had been sitting in the vault for over a decade – and her mother had not been without means, apparently.

The money was enough to live off for the rest of his life, if he stuck with his current spending habits and stayed alone. Personally, Marina was hoping he wouldn't. And now that he had regular income, he'd started saving up himself, even though he insisted on paying his share of groceries and supplies at home.

It had taken hours, in company of David and her mum's advocate, to get the goblins to fuse the vaults into one and sign the money over to her godfather.

Remus was going to snap. The actual transfer of funds depended on his signature, since Marina wanted his vault transferred into the one the women had opened – he wouldn't lose as much interest like that. Now to get him to sign...

Then she'd visited the Ministry and had been granted permission, thanks to Amelia pulling some strings, to go to the Department of Mysteries and get the prophecy off the shelf. She was the only one who could do it without getting cursed.

But she wanted it out of there, just in case the Death Eaters figured out who her supposed opponent would be and got their hands on it. She'd watched it with David, once, before shattering it.

All that, she had done without telling anyone about it; not her Dad, not Remus, not Dumbledore.

She wasn't a complete moron though. They needed to know.

* * *

 _ **February 16**_ _ **th**_ _ **1995**_

"It was a harmless one," her father said after they'd dragged themselves upstairs to eat breakfast.

He was referring to the full moon. The transformation had been as painful as ever for Remus, but he was already up and running today. It was rare.

"Sure was," she agreed and got out juice and milk. "He's already on his way down."

"That's fast," Harry grinned and sat down, his hair wet from his shower. One of his Christmas presents had been a new pair of glasses and he was proudly wearing them; they had the same round shape and his old ones (and James') but the frame was thicker and red-black. They were finally the right size too.

Once their wolf joined them, they dug into breakfast together. Given that in a week's time they'd be facing the Second Task, she was astounded how relaxed they all were.

She should have known better.

"So are you going to tell us what's going on with you?" her Dad asked her as soon as they'd all put their forks down.

Marina sighed and leaned back, waving her wand in a silent Summoning Charm. Parchments upon parchments came sailing down the stairs and onto the table. The one on top was her mother's letter.

"Start with that," she told them quietly and pointed at it. "It's kind of self-explanatory."

She busied herself doing the dishes while her family grew very quiet behind her, reading her mother's parting words to her.

Her father's emotions were a conflicting mess between sadness, outrage and a certain degree of hurt; presumably because she hadn't trusted him with her secret.

Remus was just about the same, except for the hurt. He was far more outraged that Rose had unloaded all of it on her.

Harry just seemed very confused, and she knew he was still wondering why she'd avoided him.

When she turned around again, they were all looking at her with sad faces. But she couldn't handle their sympathy, not knowing what Harry had yet to see.

So she walked over and hovered her wand above the letter.

"You all need to touch it for this," she whispered, so her voice wouldn't break. The men obliged and she activated the memory charm.

It was odd to watch. Their eyes went blank as the letter acted as a makeshift pensieve and let them see the memory Marina wished her mother had never included. But Harry deserved to know.

By the time the three of them moved again, she'd cleaned the kitchen and was out of distractions.

Harry was so stunned he couldn't even speak.

"She knew?" her father croaked, horrified. "Lily _knew_?"

"Apparently," she nodded and hugged herself around the middle. If possible, their grief for their friend had just grown. "But there was no way of knowing when and where. And trying to prevent it could have gotten them killed sooner. So they decided to..."

"Pretend for Dad," Harry finished quietly, his tears burning in Marina's eyes.

"And for you," she told him gently. "Mum saw that you and I would make it out alive. If they'd tried to change the future..."

"It could have killed us." He sounded like he didn't think that was such a bad thing.

* * *

"How is he?" she asked, sitting in their living room and nursing her second butter beer. Her father had accompanied Harry upstairs when her brother had decided to spend some time alone before they went back to the castle.

"Listening to the wireless and pretending it doesn't bother him."

Remus sat across from her, a forlorn look on his face; her Dad was torn between confusion and hurt, not that he let it show.

"Who else knows?"

"Just David," she shook her head. "He was with me when I opened it."

"Let's keep it that way. If people found out that Rose knew and didn't do anything..."

They'd label her a traitor because no one understood the Sight.

Remus shifted, the Gringotts papers in hand, and felt like... he was bracing himself. Marina cut him off before he even had a chance.

"Remus, don't even think about arguing. Just take the damn money already."

"It's yours and Harry's."

"Moony, I have more money than I could possibly spend. Grandpa made sure of that. Same for Harry. And it was _literally_ Mum's dying wish that you get it."

"Take it," her father insisted before Remus could keep arguing. "Kitten's right. We have enough."

And her goof of a father was still saving up funds for her – as if she needed it.

Defeated, her godfather reluctantly signed the papers. One would think she had asked him to jump into a volcano or something.

* * *

"What is it with everybody and money lately?" Carmen asked, stunned, after Marina had told her friends what had been going on lately, albeit the edited version.

"What do you mean?"

"Uncle Ben divided the family fortune last week and gave Dad his share. Then _he_ split half of it and gave each of my siblings and me equal savings."

Benjamin was one of the Rockefellers of the wizarding world. Compared to the Nott fortune, the Blacks were only moderately well-off. If he had handed Jupiter his share of the inheritance...

"Well, it is Jupiter's, technically."

"What am I gonna do with so much money?" Carmen asked dryly. Their friends hid their laughs with fake coughs and sneezes. Elvira was wealthy enough and just grinned.

"Stop freaking out, first of all. The galleons don't bite. And I haven't touched my fortune either."

But it did make for one hell of a safety net, just in case.

"You're doing fine without it, so just ignore it until you need it," Elvira agreed and finished her homework assignment with a wave of her wand.

"Why is everybody spreading money all of a sudden?" Angelina wondered as they were getting ready for their next classes.

"Because people managed to break out of Azkaban, a Death Eater managed to get into Hogwarts of all places, and the Dark Mark was seen for the first time since the war," Marina replied. "They don't want to admit that they are getting scared – but they are."

For good reason too. Voldemort and Bellatrix made a lethal and insane combination.

"Does Mad-Eye have any idea yet why Crouch entered you into the Tournament?"

"No. Nobody can figure out what the point of that is, other than to get rid of Harry and me without having to face aurors. Problem is, Crouch could have killed us at anytime until he was exposed, if that had been the point."

Marina couldn't tell them about Harry's nightmares, in which Voldemort wanted her brother delivered to him.

"Crouch said it's for a ritual," Trish tossed into the conversation.

Of course she would remember that.

"Resurrection of Might." _By Bone, Blood, Flesh and Pain._

The name of the damn ritual was as pretentious as the dark wizard who'd invented it.

After everything that had happened, she'd gone and gotten the bloody book from Grimmauld Place. The book described the gruesome process, but of course it took more than just the ingredients for the spell. What wasn't in her copy of the book was the incantation – or how the hell to stop it.

"What does it do?" Sam asked, looking pale.

"Exactly what you're thinking. Which why we are not gonna let it happen."

"But what if we can't prevent it?" Katie questioned quietly.

"Then Merlin and Morgana help us all." Because this time Lily wasn't here to die for her son and throw the curse back at Voldemort.

* * *

 _ **February 24**_ _ **th**_ _ **1995**_

"I don't feel so good," Harry mumbled at breakfast. It was their last reprieve before they'd have to go down to the Black Lake and face whatever horrors the judges and Crouch had come up with.

"I'd have been surprised if you did," she muttered back, her own stomach queasy.

For all their preparation and planing, and the fact that Viktor and Fleur had joined as well so they'd all make it out alive, they had no idea what was about to happen.

No one had commented when they'd claimed one end of the Gryffindor table for themselves, all their friends surrounding them. The rest of Durmstrang was still at the Slytherin table, much to Karkaroff's approval, while Beauxbatons stayed with Ravenclaw.

But their anxiety stemmed from the simple fact that there were people missing from their group: Carmen, Ron and Elvira. _And while you're searching ponder this, we've taken what you'll sorely miss._ Only the fact that Mad-Eye, steadily keeping his eye on them, wasn't reacting to their missing friends at all, had kept them from panicking. They'd taken her and Harry's best friends and Viktor's soon-to-be girlfriend hostage. And Fleur's little sister Gabrielle.

Crouch Jr really needed to rot in hell.

"They wouldn't really let anything happen to them, right?" Susan asked nervously, shoulder to shoulder with an anxious Hermione.

"Not if they can help it," Marina agreed calmly. However...

"But who knows what Crouch did. They might not be able to do anything," Harry mumbled under his breath, voicing their collective thought.

"We 'ave to get zem out," Fleur said in a slightly hysterical tone – she was worried sick.

"Ve vill," Viktor said confidently, even though he was just as nervous. He _really_ liked Elvira.

Marina laid her head on her crossed arms on the table. Champion anxiety times four.

"You have the Gillyweed, right?" she heard Hermione ask quietly, as if afraid anyone would hear who wasn't supposed to.

"Two batches," Harry replied grimly. They only had an hour, but there was no need to drown.

When the judges rose from the teacher's table, they knew it was time. Marina was aware that Remus and her father were already by the lake, along with Fleur's and Viktor's parents.

"Let's go," she mumbled, not any more thrilled than the others. As one, their entourage rose with them and they made their way out of the Great Hall. Their fellow students had quieted their chatter to whispers, more than likely speculating.

Down by the Lake, they had conjured stands for the schools and the families to watch, but that was just about it. Made sense, of course; the Taks would be happening under water.

"We get them all out," Harry said grimly. "No matter the scores, we get them out."

Viktor and Fleur nodded in agreement, the French girl by now thoroughly disillusioned. She'd never expected to be risking her sister as well as herself.

"Keep your eyes open," Marina added as they all took off their robes. "The Giant Squid is the only thing down there that'll leave us alone. Everything else will try to stop us."

 _But danger lurks within our realm, You'll have to fight to stake your claim._

Between the selkies and the grindylows alone, they'd have a hell of a time. Generally, the merpeople were peaceful with humans, but they were also feral. And the four of them were about to enter their territory.

Bagman, as per usual impossibly cheerful about the whole thing, greeted the audience and gave the whistle to start their deadline.

Viktor, Fleur and Marina immediately started waving their wands, meanwhile Harry stuffed the Gillyweed down his throat; the taste was abhorrent.

Fleur had obviously been thinking as same as her, because before long they were looking at each other with bubbles around their heads.

Viktor dove in first, in need of water, seeing as he'd partially transfigured himself into a shark.

The girls followed him into the lake, their wands lit, and started searching.

Harry caught up to them soon, the transfiguration complete. Her brother had gills now and was sporting flippers.

For a few minutes, they all swam together. Then their natural competitiveness set in and they parted ways, swarming into different directions. It would increase their chances of getting there in time.

Any other day, and any other lake probably, Marina would be enjoying this.

But she could practically feel dozens of eyes on her. The grindylows were circling her already.

Then she saw why they hadn't tried to kill her yet and froze – which was akward in water.

She was faced with several creatures that had the heads and forequarters of horses and tails of rather oversized fish.

Problem was, there was really no way to tell whether they were hippocampi, relatively friendly water beasts, or kelpies – shapeshifting water demons that tricked people onto their backs and turned them into lunch.

Marina had ridden a hippocampus before, when she'd been on vacation, and knew how to treat them right so it didn't end up killing her, offended.

But kelpies... the most famous one, or infamous really, was Nessie. Even the muggles knew the creature to be real, even though the Ministry made sure no one actually believed it. The beast seemed to enjoy turning into the giant serpent and scaring people... probably eating some of them.

She really didn't have time for debating this, so she charmed some of the weeds close-by to wind around the creatures' legs and basically tie them up.

All of them started struggling instantly, trashing against what they normally ate. The weeds weren't strong enough to hold them for long, but it told Marina what she needed to know anyway.

One of the creatures was not a hippocampus but a kelpie. Its eyes had flashed angrily, indicating the instinct to change shape and break free.

She sliced the plants apart, freeing the beasts, and summoned a bridle to put on the kelpie. She wouldn't dare insult the hippocampi like that.

Mentally thanking Remus for the thorough lessons on dark creatures, she placed the bridle, rendering the kelpie harmless for the time being, and lodged hooks into the soil to keep it chained there; until the merpeople decided to idiotically free it, that was.

One of the blue-skinned hippocampi swam over to her, butting its head against her shoulder. Their behaviour resembled that of horses a lot. She petted it gently, taking a second to lament the fact that she didn't have time to stick around, and swam on.

She needed to find Carmen.

* * *

When she finally reached the merpeople's city, she was pretty sure that time was running out.

Viktor was already there, hovering over their unconscious friends, and looked like he'd had a nest of grindylows tear at him.

Fleur and Harry were appraching just as she reached Carmen, who was well and truly out of it. That was probably a good thing.

Fleur was bleeding from long gashes in her legs, indicating she'd had trouble with the selkie's pets.

Harry had tiny little marks all over him, like needles, telling her that there were shrakes in this lake. The fish had sharp, porcupine-like needles covering them.

Simultaneously, they severed the ropes that held their friends, when suddenly Viktor's shark-head snapped around.

Marina looked over her shoulder – and almost fainted.

She was looking at what she would have sworn was a sea serpent. Except of course they were in a lake – and there was only one type of lake serpent that resembled its ocean-living relative like this.

 _That raving lunatic brought a Selma._

It explained her Bulgarian friend's shocked reaction, that even the shark snout couldn't hide. Selmas were viciously violent and fed on human flesh. Their skin was too thick to stun them. Freezing them didn't do any good, since they were native to the icy lakes of Norway.

The only way to survive an encounter with a Selma was to somehow lure it into a net, or something equally tangled, and then get the hell away.

Problem was, they couldn't very well do that _and_ get their friends out.

The beast was approaching fast, in spite of its length of at least 80 ft., and even though Marina knew that logically there was no way to tell – it looked hungry.

Fleur, after gaping at the beast, started gesturing frantically at the rest of them.

Marina, experiencing their collective fear, struggled to stay conscious and motioned her brother to take the hostages and swim. Right now, he was the fastest.

But apparently, he wasn't convinced and rightly so. Nothing was fast enough to outswim a Selma. Nothing but a fellow serpent.

The merpeople around them looked just as terrified as them, obviously not in on Crouch Jr's machinations until now.

There was really only one option, Hail Mary though it was.

Marina removed her bubble and prayed her Mermish pronounciation was right.

"Go, free the Kelpie!" she yelled into the water, before restoring her bubblehead – which was harder than it sounded since she had to do it non-verbally.

The selkies looked flabberghasted for a second but some of them took off in the direction of the creature, telling her they'd been watching.

Kelpies and Serpents were not friends. Unleashing one monster on the other was the only plan she could come up with that wouldn't get them eaten in the next ten seconds.

Viktor grabbed Elvira, Harry Ron, Fleur Gabrielle and Marina Carmen, and they all sank to the lake floor, apparently in agreement that not being noticed was their only chance to stay alive.

Harry, who'd learned about dark creatures last year, looked at her like she'd lost her marbles. And maybe she had. Maybe the kelpie would just call dibs on them as lunch – but what other option was there?

Right on cue, the few merpeople returned in the speed of someone running – or swimming – away from something.

Seconds later, the kelpie followed. But it was no longer a mock-hippocampus. It had taken the shape of an enourmous serpent, matching the one currently looking for a meal.

It was like watching a film, the two dark beasts colliding. Technically, kelpies were smarter than most creatures, but serpents were as well.

How in the name of Morgana did they get past two fighting serpents? Because they had to get away while they were busy. And quickly, because Harry's gillyweed would soon lose effect.

She almost screeched when something knocked her over from behind.

Wand up, she turned to find the hippocampi, butting the other champions gently too. Well, gently for them but it still knocked them forward.

The beast she'd petted before – recognisable by the mane – looked at her and the turned sideward, bucking once.

 _They're offering us a ride._

So grateful she felt like hugging the horse-like creature, she gestured for the others to get their friends on the hippocampi's backs.

From the sound of it – she refused to look – the Selma and Kelpie were still clawing and biting each other. But at some point they'd likely decide that there was enough food to go around.

The team of hippocampi waited rather patiently until the knocked-out hostages were secured and until they'd mounted beasts of their own.

Then they were off.

* * *

At the speed they were swimming back, they'd get out of the water before Harry's gills would disappear. Though at this point, drowning was decidedly not the worst possibility.

Merpeople's screams reached their ears despite the distance their new water-dwelling friends had put between them, telling her that the monsters had stopped fighting each other.

They'd started hunting.

One could only hope that the selkies would have enough sense to hide in the nooks and caves they knew better than the intruders Crouch had brought.

When they were close enough to shore that they could probably walk back, they dismounted and pulled off their friends.

But while the other three immediately made for dry land – which was the sensible thing to do – Marina couldn't just leave.

The Kelpie wouldn't eat the Hippocampi, but the Selma most definitely would. She couldn't leave the creatures at the monster's nonexistent mercy, especially after they'd saved her and her friends.

Hoping against all odds that the water-horses would understand what she was doing, Marina summoned a giant net, made of steel and dragon hide; she'd have to let the magizoologists know that she borrowed it from the reservoir. It reached from the water's surface to the bottom of the lake. Not even the Selma was strong enough to get through; it would keep the dark beasts away from her rescuers until someone could figure out how to get rid of them.

Spell-flashes hit the net from behind her, and she turned to find the other champions reinforcing it with Hardening Spells, while Harry was guarding the hostages.

Marina faced the hippocampi, one of which rubbed its head against her. Apparently, message received.

Finally, they headed for the shore.

* * *

Madame Pomfrey was the one awaiting them as soon as they set foot on land. None too pleased about any of this, she fed them potion to warm them.

Fleur was refusing to let go of Gabrielle, same with Viktor and Elvira. The latter was barely awake and aware yet when the Seeker kissed her in relief.

The audience was cheering at the display, Marina just shook her head.

"Your timing is atrocious, Viktor," she said dryly. But she couldn't blame him after what had just happened. A bloody Selma.

Carmen blinked sluggishly against the effects of whatever spell she'd been under. Before her friend could ask what had happened, Marina sensed familiar emotions near-by.

A few seconds later, Elias and David dropped to their knees next to them, both crushing them in a group hug.

Harry and Ron were undergoing similar treatment by utterly worried and relieved Susan and Hermione.

The rest of their friends were holding back but hovering in proximity as well.

Not in the mood to feel relieved just yet, Marina looked up and glared ate the assembled judges, teachers and ministry employees.

"There is a Kelpie in that lake," she snapped. "And as if that isn't dangerous enough, he brought in a freaking _Selma_!"

Collective gasps were the reaction.

"If it hadn't been for the hippocampi – that have no business in clear water either – we'd all be serpent food by now."

Dumbledore was the only one not listening, because he was talking to a merperson. In fluent Mermish, of course. And with every screech the merpeople's chief let lose, the headmaster got paler. Remus, who was fluent as well, actually swayed and held onto her Dad for support.

"Kitten-," her godfather said hesitantly, "-the kelpie..."

"Is the one from Loch Ness. I know."

She'd figured that out when the monsters had been fighting. The kelpie was too big to be any other.

The ministry employees and Hagrid huddled together to come up with a plan to extract the beasts and get them back where they belonged.

Th judges gathered to discuss scores.

Meanwhile, the champions and their friends stayed right where they were – on the ground – and looked at each other in complete understanding and dread.

Bringing in a Selma meant Crouch had accepted the possibility of them dying down there, despite needing Harry for the ritual.

So the only question on all their minds right now was:

 _Just what had those maniacs come up with for the Third Task?_


	32. Not Good

**Angelina POV**

 _The crowd was cheering so loud she couldn't even hear the wind blowing past her ears. The quaffle barely registered under her arm, as she whisked past the opponent team's Chasers._

 _All her friends were down in the stands, cheering her on – even Marina who certainly had more important things to do at the auror office than to watch her first match as a member of the Wimbourne Wasps._

 _Whistling the loudest were, naturally, the Weasley twins. Fred had brought their self-made fireworks to support her with – and make some business, not that she minded. George however was focused completely-_

A terrifying scream tore through the air, waking Angelina from her dream.

She sat up on her bed and lit her wand – finding Marina trashing next to her. The latest issue of _Spella Weekly_ lay on the floor; obviously her friend had fallen asleep reading it.

It had been quite some time since Marina had had nightmares this bad. She jumped out of bed, the other girls sitting up drowsily and confused, and shook her friend by the shoulders.

* * *

She had never been so glad in her life to be woken up.

Angelina was standing over her, a shocked look on her face, and still had hold of her shoulders.

"Thanks," Marina mumbled, out of breath. That told her she'd been screaming. "Sorry for waking you."

"What in then name of Merlin did you _see_?" Angelina asked her. By now her dorm-mates recognised the difference between garden variety nightmares and Seeings.

"Third Task," she replied and rubbed her hands over her face.

She was guessing that the International Confederation of Wizards had come up with the idea of the maze itself. Putting obstacles and challenges other than hedges in there made sense too – though she could really do without Aragog's relatives.

But Marina couldn't imagine that the rest of what she'd seen had been part of the plan. Normally, her first instinct was to assume that her Seeings were changeable. But every ounce of her being told her that she'd _seen_ true.

They were so doomed.

* * *

 _ **Hogsmeade, March 4**_ _ **th**_ _ **1995**_

"They hexed my son," the blonde woman in front of her stated in icy outrage, cold fury radiating off of her in waves.

Marina sighed.

"He's friends with Gryffindors now, Cissa. It was bound to happen some time."

Apparently, the Slytherins had decided that the Malfoy name was not enough of a threat anymore and had hexed Draco for betraying the pure-blood agenda.

Narcissa was none too pleased.

"He'll be fine. Madame Pomfrey had it fixed in ten seconds flat. And the kids retaliated, which is why they all have detention now."

Snape would have given the instigators a pass, but McGonagall had witnessed it all too.

Narcissa harrumphed – which was a lot less dignified than she normally acted – and crossed her arms.

"You can't tell Lucius," Marina reminded her cousin gently. If Malfoy heard about this, he'd catch on to the fact that his family had switched sides on him a year ago.

"I'm aware," Narcissa replied indignantly. "He's been preoccupied anyway."

"With your sister out there plotting, that doesn't surprise me."

Interestingly enough, that didn't get her a reaction. Whenever she mentioned Dromeda, Narcissa couldn't hide the old pain over a lost sister. But she never reacted to Bellatrix – almost as if she didn't care. Bella had probably always been crazy.

"It's not Bellatrix he's concerned about," Cissa muttered, remarkably grumpy.

None of the free Death Eaters wanted their Lord back – because they'd renounced him and denied ever following him voluntarily after he disappeared. Voldemort would be none too happy with them.

"I'm surprised Skeeter hasn't figured out we're all friends now," Marina mumbled. "It makes one hell of a story." And would most definitely screw up everything, so she was counting her blessings.

* * *

Narcissa hadn't just visited to voice her outrage, of course. She was meeting with her cousin and the other parents – they'd finally agreed to help Cissa escape her husband. It had to be done carefully though or they'd just get her killed. Meanwhile, Marina was having a meeting of her own.

Setting that meeting without any of her friends finding out had not been easy. Angelina had spilled about her nightmares and she'd been having a hell of a time to get the quartet to leave her side occasionally. Ted's cooking lesson had really taken – Susan was all but drowning her in food and Hermione had found her love of baking (her dentist parents had been horrified). It was a good thing the four of them were animagi – otherwise they'd be rolling around the castle soon.

But this wasn't something she was ready to share yet, if ever. Because her mother had written another letter from the grave that had come with a warning label. Of course, she'd read it anyway.

And now she had no idea what to do.

For the first time in her life, as far as she could remember, she wanted to run to her father and just heap this mess on him and let him deal with it. Except that wasn't her. In fact, there was a very huge part of her that didn't want him to know about any of it at all.

So now here she was, meeting with the one person in the world her mother seemed to have trusted aside from Lily.

Her cousin Pheora.

* * *

Apparently, the family had good genes. Despite the third degree cousin status, Marina could see the resemblance. They shared their blonde hair and cream tan. And the non-existent height. If it hadn't been for the stunning blue eyes, she would have sworn it was her mother, at first sight.

"Marina," the older Seer greeted her and she was pleasently surprised that she barely sensed anything. She was using Occlumency.

"Pheora."

They spent the next have hour sharing basic information. It was beyond weird to see so many of her own habits in someone other than her Dad.

Marina could tell that Pheora wanted to talk about the prophecy – but her Vow prevented her from bringing it up herself.

She, however, had more pressing questions. Desperately wishing she wouldn't have to do this, she took a deep breath.

"Tell me about my sister."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry it took so long (and this is just a teaser) but I'm drowning in final exams at university. Next chap will be coming soon.**

 **And here is a little background info that I'll mention soon without detail, so...**

Current Prefects:

since 1993/1994:

Marina Black (Gryffindor)

Alexander Sykes (Gryffindor)

Carmen Nott (Ravenclaw)

Marcus Turner (Ravenclaw)

Jolene Wood (Hufflepuff)

Jacob Flinton (Hufflepuff)

Elvira Rookwood (Slytherin)

Nicholas Grimmett (Slytherin)

since 1994/1995:

Katie Bell (Gryffindor)

Eric Murley (Gryffindor)

Samantha Price (Ravenclaw)

Robert Hawking (Ravenclaw) Cecil Meakin (Hufflpuff) Rolf Scamander (Hufflepuff) Ursula Gordon (Slytherin) Roman Flint (Slytherin)


	33. Double Trouble

**Chapter warning: a bit depressing, all around**

* * *

Combing through family ancestry records was, to put it mildly, a pain.

Searching for information about people who had been so determined to hide it was even worse.

Her entire conversation with Pheora might have answered some questions, but it had opened another can of worms too.

Apparently, Marina and her twin had been born early – that was why her Dad hadn't been there for it and on a mission for the Order instead. Her mother had had no idea she'd been carrying twins. Wizards didn't do sonograms, since their potions and spells ensured the fetus' health. Maybe they should reconsider that.

The mediwitch had handed Marina to her happy mother – and hadn't even mention the second baby that had come out with her. Because said mediwitch had been cursed a few years before and unable to have children of her own. Married to the son of a Death Eater, Castor Wilkes, she had obviously had no scruples in taking what she wanted any more than her husband would have.

Marina wasn't completely sure just how Jezebeth Wilkes – yes, that was her real name – had pulled it off, but then again it had been during the war. Everyone had been preoccupied.

Her mother had only found out about it because of another mediwitch who had witnessed it all and had gathered all her courage and contacted Rose – almost six months later. Her bravery in crossing a known death eater had cost the poor witch her life.

Unfortunately, there had been nothing anyone could do at that point. The Order and the Ministry had been busy fighting a war, and her mother couldn't very well storm the cowards' mansion on her own. Plus, Jezebeth had apparently never spent a day alone after that. And telling Sirius Black that someone had _stolen_ his daughter would have been sure way to get all the Marauders killed. They wouldn't have listened to reason.

The Wilkes had raised Marina's twin as their own, obviously very well aware of her mother's true bloodline (they wouldn't have taken a half-blood) and brought her up under pure-blood principles. They'd named her Titania.

After Castor had been killed during the war, Jezebeth had all but become a recluse with only her stolen daughter for company. And from everything Pheora had said, after keeping tabs for years, Titania took very much after her 'adoptive parents'.

Hence here Marina was, sitting in the school library, pretending to prepare for the Third Task and just about pulling her hair out.

She had a twin sister – identical on top of things – that had been stolen basically out of her mother's womb and raised by some of the worst Death Eaters around. By all accounts, she was one herself. But well aware of Marina's fame, she'd barely ever left the mansion and when she did, then only in disguise. No one without the Sight had ever seen her face – except her thieving mother, of course.

What was worse: according to her mother's and Pheora's research, Voldemort himself had given his blessing, so to speak. Probably in the hopes that Titania would inherit their ancestor's gifts as much as Marina had.

Twins didn't always share the same magical abilities – as the Patils demonstrated – but others, like Fred and George, did.

Her stomach turned at the mere notion of the Death Eaters having a Seer in their ranks, never mind such a strong one. If Titania mastered her powers – if she had them – she'd be able to predict the aurors' every move.

And even if she didn't possess the Sight: she looked just like Marina and no one knew it. Drop her in front of aurors and they'd all hesitate. Even a second of that could get them killed.

Hell, what better way to lure Harry anywhere than to use her carbon copy? If there had been an opening, she was sure they would have tried already.

Two days since Hogsmeade and she was no closer to figuring anything out. There was a part of her, admittedly a petty part, that wished her mother would never have written that second letter. That she'd never have found out. She'd spent years telling people to stop treating her like a child because her abilities had made sure she hadn't been one in a long time – yet here she was, sorely tempted to roll up in a ball and cry her eyes out. She knew she was worrying her friends silly, but she couldn't tell anyone. If the Wilkes got wind that she knew...

And just how in the name of everything holy was she supposed to tell her Dad that he had another daughter who just happened to be a Death Eater in the making?

* * *

Her lynx form was her only escape. Barely anyone could keep up when she roamed the grounds as her feline self. Hermione's cat was smaller and didn't have limbs as powerful as a lynx. Running away of course only made them worry more.

Marina was pretty sure she had scared some of the local animal life in the Forbidden Forest, wailing all her feelings as loud as she could. She'd given Hagrid a shock too.

She felt like she'd landed in a parallel universe – she liked muggle sci-fi books, don't judge – or something similarly unrealistic. How had her life turned into this poor excuse of a melodrama?

Either way, she couldn't keep this up much longer. But what to tell the others? She could barely believe the truth herself, yet she'd _seen_ Titania. After Pheora had left, still apologising profoundly for something that wasn't her fault, she'd taken her Scrying Mirror and willed herself to find her sister. There was no doubt about it: Titania was her carbon copy – except, she looked... harsher. Colder. Kind of like Narcissa had forced herself to look all these years. At first sight, no one would be able to tell that she wasn't Marina; until they saw her eyes. Because, in a twist of fate, she had inherited their father's grey eyes. As far as she'd been able to tell, that was the only difference between them. That and the bad attitude.

Marina had a vivid imagination – it came with the territory – but no matter how many different ways she could come up with to have that conversation, it never went over well.

Especially since some part of her was the sentimental idiot she'd been accused of being and actually wanted to _save_ her sister.

As if that were possible at this point. Titania had never known her real family.

And now Marina had to hope she never would.

* * *

 _ **Three weeks later...**_

"She ran off again?" Angelina asked and Marina heard a thump. She assumed her friend had tossed her Quidditch gloves onto the ground. Feline ears were sensitive. All their friends knew they were animagi now – there was no point keeping the secret after Amelia had registered them.

"As if she had dementors on her tail," Carmen confirmed with a sigh. "She sleeping?"

"Not that I know of," Ange grumbled. "You think it's the Tournament that has her this rattled?"

"No. If it was the Third Task, she'd be talking to us. This is something else. Worse, if possible."

"You told us she _saw_ the champions facing manticores, griffins, a sphinx... how could it get worse?"

"I don't know," her best friend replied, sounding completely frustrated. "She won't talk to me."

Marina winced in her hiding place. Hurting her friend had so not been the plan but... she still didn't know what to do.

"Harry didn't have any luck either?" Sam questioned, sounding worried.

"No. Neither did Remus or Sirius for that matter. She already looked awful when she went home for the full moon – she looks worse now."

Guilt would do that to you. Marina hadn't said a word to her father and felt awful. But if she'd told him, he'd be the one being miserable right now.

"And your brother?"

"She's ignoring his letters," Carmen responded indignantly – but even as a lynx Marina's empathy worked. Her friend was very angry with her – and had every right to be.

Shutting him out was hurting David more than anyone else. Which was the last thing she wanted.

It was getting worse every day and she was still as confused as she'd been day one. Telling them held its risks, not telling them did too. _Damned if you do, damned if you don't._

She certainly wasn't acting like a Gryffindor lately.

* * *

 **Harry POV**

"It's been almost two months and she's still not talking to anyone," Hermione stated with a small whine in her voice.

"Well, she is at least answering David's letters again," Susan put in mildly, twirling her wand.

"She's still not telling him what's bothering her," Angelina grumbled, crankier than Harry had ever seen her – even after losing a match.

"We happened to overhear old Mad-Eye yesterday-," Fred put in and everyone snorted.

"- and apparently she's even losing her edge in class. She can barely cast anymore," George fininshed his brother's sentence grimly.

"She's spending more time in fur than in skin lately," Carmen mumbled, sounding every bit as exhausted as she looked. "I've never seen her like this."

"After the last three years, what could possibly have her running this scared?" Samantha asked.

"Not scared," Viktor spoke up for the first time. "Worried."

"She's always worried," Elvira shook her head next to him. "This is worse."

"Per'aps she is not afraid for 'erself," Fleur said, finishing her braid.

"Everyone she knows can take care of themselves," Ron argued. "And besides, she only gets this worried about Harry."

"And Sirius," Harry added quietly, causing everyone to freeze.

No one wanted to even imagine something happening to Padfoot. Not only had his godfather... father been through by far enough, but they all knew they'd lose Marina along with him.

"He's one of the best Aurors they have," Katie said with a slight tremble in her voice. "She knows he can take on just about everything."

He still wasn't quite sure how Padfoot had done it, and so fast too, but everybody had grown very fond of him. There was just something about his father that no one seemed to be able to resist. Plus, he'd gotten Molly off the twins' back over their career plans – as long as their grades stayed up to par, their mother wouldn't berate them anymore – since she wanted them to have qualifications. (Padfoot was a genius that way).

But as much as everbody loved Sirius, no one could even imagine what Marina would go through if anything went wrong.

"There are different ways to get hurt," someone said from the door and they all winced, caught. Carmen turned around, siting on the ground as she was, and looked at her brother.

"What are you doing here?" she asked David and sounded... cautious.

"Took the day off and got Dumbledore's permission to come on the grounds," he replied – without really answering her question. "Elias is at the lake."

"We don't know where she is," Carmen told him with a sigh and stood, getting ready to go see her boyfriend.

"You might not. Starlight does," David pointed out and nodded in the direction of Marina's cat.

"She'll turn when she sees you coming," Hermione said hesitantly. "She really doesn't want to talk."

"She won't see me coming," David assured her somewhat grimly. "I guess it's a good thing she never asked what I turn into."

"What makes you think you can get her to talk?" Jolene questioned. "After two months of this?"

"Because she left this at my place," he answered and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment. "Marina would never be that careless unless she wanted me to find it."

Harry had seen enough of that handwriting to know who the letter was from. He'd read journals full of it, after all. His insides churned, thinking about the last message she'd received like that.

What the blazes had Rose dumped on her from the grave now?

* * *

Marina knew it was only a matter of time now. Leaving her mother's letter at David's place had been the coward's way out, but she was desperate. She had hardly slept in two months, let alone eaten, and after the last full moon she had looked worse than Remus – that was saying something. But turning so much without eating or sleeping took its toll, no matter how much magical reserves she had.

Her empathy had started going haywire again last week, causing her to break down like she had when she had first developed it. Except now she was about three times as powerful and couldn't afford to lose control.

Her father had spent weeks now, going from person to person and trying to find out what was wrong with her. His worry had made him decidedly cranky and he'd looked almost as dangerous as he had those first weeks after he'd been released from Azkaban.

When Remus had finally confessed to her that Crouch Jr had escaped yet again – with a little help from Bellatrix and no resistance whatsoever from the Dementors after David and Elias had handed him over at the gate – she had known her time had run out. No one could afford to be worried about her anymore.

As if the truth wouldn't make them worry.

So she'd left the sermon her mother had written at David's place, since she still couldn't quite bring herself to say it. By now he would have done his own research and know that her sister was, for all intents and purposes, a Death Eater. All that was missing was the Mark.

But, dear Merlin and Morgaine, she still didn't know how to tell her father. She didn't know _if_ she could do it. For all that he scared most people, finding out he'd lost another child...

" _Meow_!"

Marina flinched, startled. Heavens above, even her cat was annoyed with her.

Starlight was the only who could have found her so fast. She'd run across half the grounds and was almost off Hogwarts property.

"I know I didn't forget to feed you," she mumbled as the feline stalked closer, her fur standing on end. "So why are you even grumpier than usual?"

She hissed in reply.

"I know they're all mad at me," Marina groaned. "So am I for that matter. Being human is harder than it looks, Starlight."

Only then did she notice that her cat hadn't come alone. A muggle would probably have run screaming but she was used to a lot scarier than a fox.

Albeit a fully grown and pretty big fox. Its fur was amber, which was pretty rare, and the canine stood at about 20 inches high. But she'd never heard of a fox that big. It was at least 40 inches long plus another 22 of fluffy tail.

Then her brain caught up with her. No wild fox was that big, but animagi were generally bigger than their natural counterparts.

He hadn't moved a muscle since she'd spotted him. Since that Christmas she'd seen Talib's other form she'd practiced that particula facet of her Sight, so she focused her Inner Eye on the fox.

Something told her she already knew who it was, but she couldn't risk being wrong and tip someone else of to his animal form.

But her Sight proved her hunch true.

"You can turn now, David," she mumbled and closed her eyes. She wasn't ready for this conversation, long overdue as it was.

Marina didn't hear him move, but the next moment he was sitting next to her on the ground with Starlight in his lap.

"Rose should never have unloaded this on you," he said quietly, his voice hard. He was definitely not happy at all with her mother.

"There is no one else. She didn't know if Dad would survive the war. Besides, can you imagine what he would have done if she'd told him back in '78?"

"He would have gotten his daughter back."

"More like he would have died trying," she countered. "Along with James and Remus. They wouldn't have let him do this alone."

"So she decided to let you deal with it?" he grumbled, unimpressed.

She winced. Well, it wasn't like she hadn't mentally cursed her mother a few times for this.

"By the time she found out she had another daughter, the Wilkes had turned their house into a fortress. There was nothing she could do. I just wish she'd never let me know."

"No one has seen Titania Wilkes in six years."

"Since I came to Hogwarts and my face was all over the _Prophet_ 's front page. Everyone would know if she'd shown her face – my guess is she was around, just disguised."

"Until they decide how to use her."

She didn't know whether to be relieved she obviously wasn't the only one reaching those conclusions, or depressed about all of it.

Starlight looked from David to her and back when they stayed silent for a few minutes.

If it was possible she would be saying _Get on with it_ right now.

"I'm sorry, David," she finally said. "I just... couldn't deal with it. Still can't."

He reached over and took her hand.

"You could have talked to me."

"I can barely look in the mirror anymore without seeing her. I scryed for her, you know. She looks exactly like me. Just... like me as a Death Eater, I suppose."

There, she'd said it. For the first time she'd admitted it out loud.

"Well, then she looks nothing like you," David said adamantly, if biased.

"If Ted and Dromeda hadn't taken me in... that could have been me."

Given the circumstances, Titania had never really stood a chance.

"Harry was abused his whole life until the letter came," David said and she flinched. Usually no one actually said that out loud, especially in front of her. "And he didn't become a bully or a sociopath."

"No, he didn't. Just an eavesdropper," she added and David looked at her, confused.

"Raven in the tree, two o'clock." It could have been any raven, of course, but the kite right next to it was a bit of a give-away. And, she guessed, the falcon on the branch over them was Elias.

Starlight would have reacted to animagi she didn't know.

"How did they-?"

"The Map. We're still on Hogwarts grounds."

Busted, the three birds flew down from where they'd been perched and landed a few feet in front of them. Then they turned back human.

Harry had barely lost all his feathers before he was kneeling on her other side and all but crushing her free hand. He was even paler than usual, his green eyes reflecting the uncertainty she'd been feeling for two months.

"Big brother is right, you know," Carmen said and sat down in front of her. "You would never have become a Death Eater, no matter who raised you."

Obviously, she'd decided she could still be mad at her later, after dealing with this mess.

"I'm not so sure."

"Twins aren't always the same," Elias argued, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Besides, look at Andromeda," Harry said and bumped her shoulder. "She was raised by blood purists – and she ran away and eloped with a muggle-born."

Marina blinked. That was... an excellent point. And even Narcissa didn't turn out like her parents had wanted her to. Oh, she was more of a purist but she'd never argued for killing muggle-borns.

"Fair enough," she conceded and squeezed his hand. "But believe it or not, that wasn't my main concern in all this."

"Then what was?" Elias asked her. But his girlfriend went ghostly pale in a matter of seconds when it dawned on her.

"Dear Merlin and Morgaine," she whispered, terrified. "Sirius."


	34. Worry (1)

Fresh tears were streaming down her face as she was sitting at the table, her head in her hands. She'd told her father everything.

And he hadn't left his room in three days.

When he hadn't come out the day after she'd come clean, Remus and Marina had called in the cavalry in form of all their friends. Their collective shock at the news had knocked her right out.

But even Hestia hadn't managed to coax him out.

Her friends had tried to get her to go back to the castle with them, but she'd gotten permission to stay home for as long as she needed before she'd left. She wasn't leaving him like this.

Even if his pain and anger killed her.

Yes, she was being dramatic on that one, but sometimes it felt like it. She didn't know how a single person could take that much grief and not break.

He was grieving the daughter he'd never met and lost.

But he was also _beyond_ furious at her mother. He'd broken everything that reminded him of her in his rage.

Marina's ears were still ringing from Dromeda's, Molly's and Laura's collective outrage over how a mother could possibly burden her own child with something like this. Remus hadn't uttered a word about it but she knew he felt the same.

To make matters worse, as it turned out someone else had known about Titania. She was the reason why Mad-Eye had taken her under his cloak – he had promised her mother to protect her. He'd gone after Wilkes in the hopes of retrieving her sister, as a favour to Rose, and had ended up killing the man in self-defence. That's how he'd lost the chunk of his nose.

Last night she'd heard Padfoot howling almost all night long. The man hadn't slept or eaten in three days. If anything he was getting worse.

And then there was the comment Dora had made – probably without realising what she'd stumbled on. Apparently Titania, who Dora had thought had been Marina, had visited the Ministry. More specifically, the Hall of Prophecy.

 _The one who knows our hearts has arrived … born to one who hides her power and one who gives his to others, never himself, born along with the seventh month... and she will stand with our Chosen against the Darkest Evil... and she must chose whether to face a battle of great pain to her soul... either she will strike down her enemy or fall at the loyal evil's hand... born along with the seventh month..._

Her father had understood immediately. Personally, she couldn't come up with anything more painful than having to face down her own sister, even when she'd never known her.

She officially hated prophecies.

"You should have told us right away," Remus told her tiredly. They were both on their fourth cup of coffee.

"Why? Because he's taking it so well?" she replied sarcastically, massaging her temples.

"You have this backwards. He's supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around."

"There is no protecting me from this. Something tells me that even if Mum hadn't written that letter, I would have found out sooner or later."

"She should never have sent it to you," he growled, still mad about it.

"Maybe not, but she did. Besides, she didn't know if you two would even survive."

"You shouldn't have to deal with it."

"I shouldn't _have_ to do a lot of things. Life isn't fair – just ask Harry. Plus, I'm more worried about Dad right now."

No wizard in history had ever died of a sodding heart attack, but at this rate his would give out.

"Your father will be fine," Hestia butted in, warming her hands on her mug.

"He's refusing to talk to even you. That doesn't qualify as fine."

It had been _a bit_ of a shock for Marina to realise that Hestia had, at least unofficially, moved in. She still had her own place but more and more of her stuff seemed to take residence here.

She did _not_ want to think about why that was bothering her. They did so not have time for this.

"I didn't wanna say something I couldn't take back."

All three of them flinched so hard their coffee spilled.

He sounded as bad as he had the days after Azkaban.

Marina turned around and winced again. He looked the part too.

Before anyone could so much as take a breath, he crossed the room and pulled Marina into a hug (that almost crushed her ribs).

"I'm so sorry, Kitten," he mumbled into her hair, sounding... broken.

"What exactly are you apoligising for?" she demanded, craning her neck to look at him.

"If I hadn't left to play hero..."

"You were trying to keep James and Lily safe. To keep Harry safe," she interrupted sternly, unwilling to let him go there. "Mum made her choice and didn't tell you. Or anyone else, expect Mad-Eye, for that matter."

Personally, she was confused as to why she hadn't told Dumbledore. Then again, the man had left her father to rot in Azkaban, so who is to say he wouldn't have knowingly left her sister to her fate too?

"She should have," her Dad growled, some of his anger coming back through. "She should never have put this on you."

"Yes, well. It's done now."

Neither Remus nor Hestia had moved a muscle and they were watching them silently. Her father didn't show any signs of letting her go anytime soon. That, she understood. A new name had just been added to the list of people he'd lost after all.

"Promise you won't do anything stupid, Dad," she mumbled after a few minutes, still in his arms.

That was what she was most afraid of. Titania was well guarded, even though she would probably disagree with that assessment. She was always surrounded by several Death Eaters.

He squeezed her tighter in response.

"Don't worry," Hestia piped up. "We'll keep an eye on things."

In other words, her Dad now had several babysitters.

"Right. I should probably get back to school." Time to face her pissed off friends.

Her father kissed her on the forehead and finally let go.

Marina hugged Hestia and Remus good-bye, her stomach still in knots. That probably wasn't going away anytime soon.

* * *

Watching the quartet trying not to worry her was... kind of sweet. Her premonitions had given them all enough fair warning to know where not to go in the maze – and avoid all the nasty beasts they had brought in. At least the ones she'd seen.

But she hadn't missed that they were sneaking around a lot, and making sure she never knew where they were going. Given the way she'd been acting the past two months, she had no right to judge whatsoever. Except something was up.

Harry knew better than to sneak off with what was going on. Hell, even if the boys had decided to ignore the potential danger – as per usual – , what in the world had possessed the girls to go along with it?

"You need to talk to Hermione," one of the twins grouched, plopping down in the armchair next to her. They were in an amazingly lousy mood.

"Why?"

"The house-elves are not coming to Gryffindor anymore," the other twin mimicked his brother. When they were in even the same mood, she could never tell them apart.

Hermione had been leaving socks and hats around the tower in an effort to free the elves. Now, she'd knitted them herself so they barely qualified as clothes, but the elves apparently still took offence. Susan had joined her best friend's mild insanity after meeting Dobby and Winky.

Winky. Now that elf was a wrinkle. Marina couldn't come up with any sensible reason as to why Crouch would all of a sudden have dismissed the elf that so obviously worshipped him. She was utterly miserable at being free.

"I can't work miracles," she replied and re-heated her tea, pointing her wand. "The girls disapprove of slavery – and I don't necessarily disagree."

Kreacher would refute that, probably. He was still firmly bound to her family and, frankly, her every whim. She didn't use that so-called power but still. The nasty little bugger had his orders to keep the Black House clean and keep an eye on Narcissa otherwise. If she got in trouble, he was to get her to safety immediately. With his elf-magic it was easy enough.

She should have ordered him out of the house for good, having him stay somewhere else, but she didn't have it in her. Taking him away from Walburga's portrait would probably kill him. Her father had no intention of stepping foot in there ever again, so she supposed there was no harm.

"We'll have no clean clothes by Walpurgis," they grumbled in unison. She snorted. Almost no one called the holiday that anymore.

Only witches usually remembered the Witch's Night. The girls usually went to the Weird Sisters concert – Dumbledore really liked signing special permissions.

But this time, the word triggered her.

 _Part of her knew she was having a premonition; and a darn strong one at that. But the rest of her conscious firmly believed she actually_ **was** _in the future._

 _And it was her, and Harry's, every fear and nightmare come to life._

 _Her brother was tied up, bleeding, and watching in horror as the bane of everyone's existence returned to the world of the embodied. Wormtail was whimpering next to his rising master, clutching his arm. Crouch was kneeling, rapture on his face._

 _Bellatrix was cackling, louder and madder than ever. She was standing over a trembling body, her wand still firmly pointed at her writhing victim._

 _And Marina realized a second before she succumbed that said victim was her._

 _Then she was sucked into the vision so completely, she might as well already be there; the pain took her breath._

 _So came the hard part. Because she_ **knew** _that this wasn't real; yet. Controlling her visions was something she could barely ever do, but staying stuck in this agony was not really on the schedule. Following Pheora's advice, she focused on her strongest emotions – love and friendship – to anchor herself to the real version of her; the one that was probably giving the twins heart attacks by now._

 _She watched events unfold in terror, unable to do anything but witness how Bellatrix tortured her in front of her Death Eater friends, and how Voldemort challenged Harry. Toying with his prey._

 _The only thing that_ didn't _shock her was Harry's stubborn courage not to die a coward. And her own determination not to give Bellatrix the satisfaction of breaking._

 _All the cowards were laughing at what they perceived to be their lord's sure victory. All but one._

 _One masked figure stood completely still and tense. Giving himself away to an observant Dark Lord._

 _None of this could happen. Marina couldn't let it happen. And yet..._

As if her thoughts had been the cue for the powers-that-be who sent her those visions, she found herself back in reality.

To her surprise though, she wasn't in the common room anymore. She was in the hospital wing. And her father was there.

"Dear Merlin, how long was I out?" she questioned, her throat so dry she croaked.

"Three hours," her answered grimly, worry lines marring his face. "When you didn't come out of it after thirty minutes, your friends brought you down here."

She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the cobwebs she always had after Seeings.

"Aren't you supposed to be on duty?" she asked while sitting up. It had been a bad one.

"I was. Until Madame Pomfrey contacted St. Mungo's about how to treat Seers – and the Healer in question sent me a Patronus."

Perfectly timed, her father's partner walked in. Kingsley looked utterly too tired.

"We went off duty early. Our lead was going nowhere anyway," the man explained with a shrug and handed her Dad what she presumed to be coffee.

"Just please tell me you didn't tell David," she sighed and accepted the hot chocolate that Kingsley levitated her way.

"No, but I imagine Carmen will," her Dad put in dryly.

"Lovely."

Silence reigned for a few minutes and Marina was just waiting for one of them to crack. But neither did. Instead, Remus did the honours, waltzing in.

"What on earth did you _see_?"

Even before he had finished, she was shaking her head.

"I can't tell you."

She'd reached that conclusion almost as soon as she'd woken up. She couldn't tell anyone what she'd seen. Not even Harry. Not until she saw more anyway. Her Dad didn't like that at all.

"What?"

"Remember what I said about why Mum didn't tell anyone James and Lily weren't gonna make it?"

"You're saying that telling us would make it worse?"

"Or that _we_ would unintentionally make it worse."

Which, admittedly, was a stretch. Because how could it get any worse? The monster everyone was scared to death of returning? Bellatrix torturing her to the edge of insanity? Harry having to face his nemesis yet again?

But she knew her gift by now, knew when to meddle – or not. And every cell in her body told her that they couldn't avoid it. Voldemort would come back, there was no two ways about it; and he would use them to achieve that, whether they liked it or not.

None of that could be changed, she knew it. But no one else would be willing to accept that, so they'd try to prevent it and potentially mess everything up.

Because there was one thing she could do. Make sure they made it out alive.

And if anyone tried to change the future, they might change that chance – and get them killed.

Her senses told her she still had a little time to do some digging.

Then she'd have to tell Harry. She couldn't let him walk into that blind.

* * *

"Your message sounded urgent," Ben said curiously.

Marina couldn't get over how much he'd changed the last few years. He was still the aristocratic pure-blood, wearing fancy robes and giving off an air of superiority. But he looked a lot more like his brother lately, his face no longer the stoic mask he used to wear. Plus, he actually sounded like a normal human being again.

She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to have to give him these bad news. Unfortunately, there was no way around it. Besides, forewarned was forearmed, right?

"He'll be back soon, Ben," she said quietly, despite the fact that they were alone at his house.

All colour drained from the man's face, as he didn't even need to ask who she was talking about. Her tone said it all.

"And when that happens, he'll call you all to his side."

Almost in reflex, he covered the arm that bore the Dark Mark. His emotions crashed and burned even as his poker face stayed in place.

"You had a Seeing?" he questioned, dread clear in his voice. Everyone had suffered under Voldemort's reign, but it had to be worse on Benjamin.

Marina still remembered the very first Seeing she'd ever had about him. Visions of the past were rare; but they were always true, since they were triggered by residue magic and emotion.

Benjamin had refused his so-called master's orders – to torture and kill some poor muggle-born – and had paid a terrible price. As punishment for his refusal to bloody his hands (or wand), Voldemort had murdered Ben's son Michael. In front of poor, _pregnant_ , Katherine no less.

Michael would have been Charlie's age. The only mercy had been that, thanks to the aurors, he hadn't suffered. They'd been closing in on Voldemort's location, so the bastard hadn't had time to torture him to punish his father.

Katherine had given birth to Theo a few months later – and then she'd just... died. No one could explain why exactly; she'd been perfectly healthy. Marina suspected her grief had done her in.

"It can't be prevented, Ben, so I need you to keep this secret," she explained grimly. "But I needed to tell you so you don't get blindsided." Plus, she really hoped he would just ignore the call when it came and stay wherever he would be.

"And you want me to stay away," he mused, making her wonder if maybe her occlumency wasn't up to par today.

"Well, yes. If I could find a way out of this I'd-"

She cut herself off, but she'd already slipped up. Ben's eyes narrowed as he studied her.

"Does your father know?"

"You're joking, right?" she huffed, giving up on the pretence. "I'm sure Jupiter has filled you in on the lovely news that I have a sister. If I tell Dad now that I'll be in trouble soon..."

She shook her head. Reckless woud be too mild a word to describe her father's reaction.

"He's your father. It should be his choice," Ben reprimanded, regret choking him up.

"Tough. I need him to stay safe for Harry," she disagreed. "I've had a family – not necessarily mine, but a family. Harry was alone this whole time – and something tells me the real danger is yet to come. I don't want him to have to face that alone. So Dad needs to stay alive."

"Are _you_ gonna make it out alive?"

The family resemblance was uncanny. Neither David nor Carmen would have let her off the hook, let alone their parents.

"I don't know," she admitted, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "If so, I didn't see how."

Personally, she was leaning towards the assumption that she wouldn't make it out, at least not even remotely in once piece. There was no way she could think of that she could get away from Bellatrix once she succumbed, let alone the fruitcake's master. But maybe getting Harry out would distract them long enough for her to disapparate to Merlin knew where. And splinter herself in the process, probably.

"How is it you're not afraid?" Benjamin asked her, flabberghasted.

"Who says I'm not?" she countered dryly, dropping her hands back onto the table. "I'm just very used to hiding it. Showing fear just gets you into trouble."

"Then why not ask the family for help?"

"Because that could just make it worse. And I am not risking Harry's life for mine."


	35. Solstice (2)

**chapter warning: severe violence**

* * *

Her sense of dread had been steadily growing the past few weeks, so she'd finally sat down and told Harry. To her surprise, he had already suspected something like it. Apparently, his nightmares were a bit more than just that.

She had marched into the Ministry after the latest moon and had asked Amelia to get Harry an emergency portkey.

The spell to activate it was a pain, and took time he might not have, but it was better than nothing.

Marina had managed to get Benjamin to give his word he wouldn't tell anyone about what she had seen.

But that sure didn't stop the man from preparing everyone for it. More often than not these days, someone walked in on the adults duelling – practising their combat and defensive magic.

Mad-Eye had raised the level of difficulty in both his regular classes and the extra session he still held for them. They were getting to spells even Marina had never even once used before.

She should have stopped Ben from organising all that, but she couldn't worry him even more. This was the only way they knew how to at least try and keep their children safe.

The general sense of dread had apparently spread to the Ministry, through Jupiter, and Amelia had talked to the Head of the Auror Office – now even the aurors were putting in extra training, just in case.

She hadn't breathed a word to anyone but Benjamin and Harry, yet everyone knew anyhow.

What scared her the most however, was the fact that all of them had seemingly accepted her word that this could not be stopped in order not to make it worse.

"You seem to get more worried by the day, instead of less," Nimue commented, sipping her butter beer. The woman was Marina's mentor in all things Seer – though she'd written to Pheora more and more lately.

"Because even though they're not actually interfering, it could still change everything." And end with her brother dead.

"Just you knowing about it could change it. Let them have some peace of mind," Nimue said with a shrug.

Sometimes she still wondered what the poor woman's parents had been thinking, naming her after the most evil Seer to ever have walked this earth. The Nimue of old had been Merlin's nemesis.

"I am. But my senses are driving me mental. It's going to happen soon, Nim. And I don't particularly look forward to it."

"Voldemort coming back, your brother facing him – what's not to look forward to?" she asked rather dryly.

"Don't forget the two mental cases. I'm starting to think Crouch Jr isn't any better than Bellatrix."

"Probably not. Twelve years in Azkaban didn't help any either."

Marina winced, someone's anger churning her insides. She didn't bother looking around to figure out who it was. She had enough problems.

"Do you think Nott got the message?" Nimue asked, sounding... odd. Marina was used to people judging and not liking Benjamin, though.

"He got it loud and clear, alright. But he won't stay away." Not if there was the slightest chance he could help Harry and her.

"That's just dumb. They'll kill him."

"Welcome to my world, Nim. I'm surrounded by martyrs."

* * *

 **June 21st 1995**

All three schools had assembled in a clearing out on what was left of the Quidditch pitch. Harry was not at all impressed.

Neither Karkaroff nor Madame Maxime looked pleased that the four champions stood huddled together in the centre, determined to help each other to get through the maze and come out of this alive. Viktor and Fleur were well aware what awaited them at the end of the maze – Marina could think of no other time anyone could possibly snatch her and Harry away.

She had seen three different versions of how tonight was going to go.

In the first, all four of them had grabbed the cursed Triwizard Cup – in order to win together, seeing as they'd fought together too – and had all ended up in hell. Voldemort had Crouch and Bella kill Viktor and Fleur before they could as so much as blink.

Marina was not about to let that happen. The other two would not end up on that graveyard.

The second Seeing showed her and Harry managing to hold on to their wands and fight back. Crouch, losing his admittedly sparse temper, ended up killing him. Unbeknownst to him, that act immediately made him Voldemort's enemy (as he wanted Harry for himself) – and Plan B to resurrect his master.

That was not going to happen either.

Option three was what she'd seen from the start. Neither one of them could fight back until the moment Harry was challenged to a duel. He would get away.

Marina still had no clue about herself. She was probably too involved to see that. If all else failed, she really would just have to disapparate – she'd passed her damn test and gotten licensed after all.

But no matter what else happened tonight, Voldemort would rise again.

The bloody maniac had planned ahead and had several back-ups in case anything happened to Harry and her before he got his bony hands on them.

* * *

 **Harry POV**

Despite all of his sister's warnings that this would happen, the portkey still caught them off guard. About as much as Marina _stunning_ Viktor had been when he had wanted to come along. They'd left Fleur to send for help – and as a guard so the manticore wouldn't end up eating them.

Much like the one and only time he'd used a portkey before, it yanked him forward somewhere around his belly button; and then the world went spinning.

Harry truly believed in Marina's gift of Sight, but some part of him had still been hoping she'd gotten this one wrong.

No such luck, apparently.

They slammed into the ground at their destination in a jumble of limbs, clutching their wands with an iron grip. Or at least he was.

But they didn't get a chance to so much as catch their breath, let alone cast spells.

"Expelliarmus!", two different voices yelled – the female one with an eerily familiar glee in it.

His wand went flying, as did Marina's. From what he could see in the corners of his eyes, they'd landed straight in his nightmares. Fear started to creep in.

When he looked at her, his sister was pressing her fists against her temples, clenching her teeth with such force she went red.

He could only imagine what sensing the emotion of _two_ lunatics was doing to her.

Then the pain hit him.

Never in his life had anything hurt this much. The pain started out at his scar and spread, feeling like it would split his skull clean in two.

Even if he'd still been armed, he couldn't have resisted the spell that lifted him off the ground.

The agony subsided a little, right before a cloaked figure – smaller than him – slammed him against a tombstone. He'd caught the name on it. _**Tom Riddle**_.

Marina's warnings were still ringing in his ears – but he didn't care anymore. Didn't care if he made it out alive. He couldn't just go along like a lamb to the slaughter. And so, he struggled.

The cloaked man backhanded him – with a hand that was a finger short.

Fury tinged his vision the proverbial red he'd never believed in. That traitor had caused so much pain and misery already, and now he wanted to finish the job?

"Coward!" Harry spit out despite the lingering pain. He didn't need a wand to take on the rat.

He kicked out, like he had kicked incoming bludgers before, tripping Wormtail, and kicked again for good measure.

Somewhere in the back of his head he registered that there were people laughing, Marina groaning in pain, but all he cared about was the rat. He wouldn't hurt anyone else.

But before he could grab the wand the rat was clutching – and not using – someone else's spell hit him from the side, throwing him onto the tombstone. It knocked the breath out of him.

"Hurry!" Crouch hissed impatiently. When he looked up, he saw the madness Marina had sensed in him.

Wormtail struggled to his feet and tied Harry to the tombstone – this time using magic from a safe distance.

Then he proceeded to drag a cauldron into the middle of the graveyard from somewhere.

"Ah ah ah!" Bellatrix suddenly chastised and he heard the zing of a spell – and Marina groan in pain.

"That wand wouldn't do you any good against both of us anyway, girl," Crouch sneered.

Apparently, Marina had decided to ignore her own advice. Or maybe being faced with the frightening reality made her realize she wanted to risk it too.

"You lost last time," his sister ground out, disgust colouring her voice.

"Not me," Bellatrix cackled in glee, the sound raising the hair in his nape. There was something in the sound, the joy she found in all of this.

" _Enough glee_ ," a high, cold voice commanded. A voice he'd prayed he would never have to hear again. " _Begin. Now._ "

"Yes, Master."

Somehow, seeing Bellatrix taking orders made this whole situation more real. And worse.

Harry also wondered just what they were supposed to begin **_with_** , since the rat was still busy stoking the fire underneath the potion.

One look at Marina told him that _she_ knew. And hadn't told him.

He didn't share his sister's curse, but suddenly he knew what would happen. They'd all known what would happen if Bellatrix ever got her hands on her cousin.

Marina met his eyes, as he began to struggle against the ropes binding him – in vain –, and Harry saw something he had never before seen so clearly in her eyes. **_Fear_**.

He held her gaze, ignoring Crouch's laughing, and heard that mad voice screeching.

" _ **Crucio!**_ "

* * *

Harry watched in horror as the curse hit Marina with such force it lifted her clean off the ground for a second, before she slumped back down.

Every muscle in her body was strung tight, her hands fisted, her eyes pressed shut and her jaws clenched with such force he wouldn't be surprised if her teeth cracked.

But she didn't make a sound.

Sweat poured down her arms and face, tears were squeezed out of her eyes – even her nose started to bleed.

But she didn't scream, didn't groan.

Bellatrix' cackle cut off, and when he craned his neck to catch a glimpse, she looked furious.

"Losing your touch?" Crouch asked her mildly, the taunt obvious.

In response, Bellatrix bared her teeth – seemingly at the world – and glared at Marina.

His sister began writhing on the ground, looking like she was having a severe seizure, but still no sound. In a way, that was more frightening than everything else. She _had_ to know that pissing Bellatrix off would only make things worse.

Said lunatic screeched in anger, giving her madness sound, and Harry could almost feel the magic she sunk into the curse.

There was a limit even to his sister's stubbornness.

Despite the obvious force she expended to keep silent, a sound eventually came lose.

It made his blood run cold.

Because it didn't sound human. No human had any right, or should have the ability, to make a sound of such helpless agony.

It was such a tortured, pitiful whine that it was obvious she literally _**couldn't**_ hold it back anymore.

Then she screamed.

* * *

Harry didn't know for how long this had been going on. He'd desperately wanted to close his eyes, but he forced himself not to do that.

There was only one reason Marina would have walked into this willingly. For him.

So the least he could do was be there when the lunatic was finished.

And so he didn't look away.

Not when her screams became screeches.

Not when they turned into sounds humans had no name for.

Not when the leg, where Bellatrix was pointing, broke from the force of the curse.

Not when her ears and eyes started to bleed, because the vessels burst.

Not when she started clawing at the ground, as if seeking for some kind of relief.

Not even when she started screaming for Padfoot. And Remus. And David. _She'd be mortified if she were aware._

Then the cold voice came again.

" _That's enough!_ "

Bellatrix didn't even seem to hear her master, but Crouch did and he yanked her wand away.

Marina slumped, like a puppet with cut strings. She was breathing so heavy you could hear her across the entire graveyard, probably. Her leg lay at a weird angle, and her fingers were still sunk deeply into the ground.

Then she turned her head and looked at him.

He wanted to scream at the agony he saw – but Marina actually managed to _smile_ at him. Sort of.

Telling him she was still all there. Still sane.

His relief was short-lived.

"It is ready, Master," Wormtail wheezed. The rat had pointedly looked away and ignored his sister's suffering. They should have let Padfoot and Remus kill him.

"Well…

Crouch and Bellatrix were watching with rapt attention as Wormtail went over to what seemed to be a bundle of robes and untangled them.

In theory, Harry had known what was in those robes. But nothing could have prepared him for the sight he was now faced with.

Voldemort didn't look human alright. The creature in front of him looked vaguely like a human child, but like no child he had ever seen. It was hairless and scaly-looking – a dark, raw, reddish black. Its limbs were thin and feeble and the face… No child would have such a face. It was flat and snake-like, with gleaming red eyes.

The thing seemed utterly helpless as the rat lifted it – revulsion all over his face, yet carefully hidden from the atrocity in his arms and the lunatics alike – and then deposited it in the bubbling potion.

 _Let it drown_ , Harry thought as his scar started to burn again. But he already knew that wouldn't happen.

Then Wormtail raised his wand and spoke – his voice shaking with fear.

" _Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"_

Beneath his feat, the grave cracked open, and he watched in fascinated horror as dust rose into the air and fell into the cauldron. The white potion turned a poisonous blue.

Now the rat was whimpering, a few tears streaming down his face, and he pulled a long dagger from his robed. He had trouble getting the next part out.

" _F-Flesh – of the servant – w-will-llingly given – you will – revive – y-your mater."_

And no wonder. He stretched out the hand missing a finger in front of him – and lifted the dagger high.

Harry closed his eyes, but there was no ignoring the pained wail as the rat cut off his own hand.

He heard the sickening splash as the severed flesh dropped into the potion, which turned a burning red so blinding he could see it with closed eyes.

He didn't realise the coward had moved over to him until he felt his pained breath on his skin.

" _B-Blood of the enemy… f-forcibly taken… you will… r-resurrect your foe."_

There was nothing he could do, no way to fight what was coming. And so he did the only thing he could:

Harry held his sister's gaze as Marina kept staring at him, as if trying to will her own strength and stubbornness into him; so that he would hang on.

He struggled on pure instinct, but it was no use. He felt the dagger slice into his right arm, blood drenching his ruined robes.

Wormtail, still trembling with pain, fumbled for a vial – which proved harder than it should be with only one hand – and collected a few drops of his blood.

Then the coward stumbled back – and waited.

He'd forced himself to watch as Bellatrix had tortured his sister.

But his stomach turned when Crouch slowly crouched down next to _still_ trembling Marina and almost gently brushed her hair back. Disgust was written all over her face but she didn't move, not even as the bastard pulled out his own vial – and collected her tears.

Harry couldn't help it. When Crouch stroked her cheek, he looked away.

Then Crouch came into his line of sight again, as he joined the rat at the cauldron.

" _Pain of the witness, violently caused, you will strengthen your adversary,_ " Crouch announced almost reverently.

Then they simultaneously poured Harry's blood and Marina's tears into the cauldron and stepped back.

The potion turned a blinding white, so bright it hurt to look at it.

Crouch sank to his knees, waiting, while the rat crumpled and held his bleeding stump.

Harry's scar ignited with agony once again – and he knew what would happen next.

The cauldron dissolved, sparks shooting all around, and in the midst of all the fog and steam a thin figure took shape.

The smoke vanished as surely as it had appeared, revealing a skeleton-thin man where the cauldron had been.

"Robe me," commanded the cold voice, still turned away.

Wormtail, now fully sobbing, scrambled to do his master's bidding and pulled the black robes over the man's head with his remaining hand.

Then the figure turned around and stared at Harry.

And Harry stared back – at his worst nightmare come to life.

Lord Voldemort was back.

* * *

This was straight out of her premonition.

Crouch kneeling before his master, rapture on his face.

A one-handed Wormtail sobbing on the side-lines.

Harry tied to a tombstone.

Bellatrix cackling with joyful glee – while still pointing that wand at Marina.

She had never fully appreciated what she had seen in David's memories. Had never fully understood just how much strength it must have taken Frank and Alice to say nothing and endure that agony until their minds broke.

Now she understood why so many, that were paying for their sins in Azkaban, had followed his orders even when they didn't want to. Threating the Cruciatus was enough.

There were no words for the pain. Everything seemed … less.

There were no words for the fire scorching her veins, instead of her blood.

No words for billions of knives cutting into her very muscle and tendon.

No words for hundreds of hooks flaying her skin.

No words for pressure splitting her skull from the inside.

No words for the sensation of acid eating at her bones, nails and even her teeth.

Alright, so maybe there were words but it wasn't enough. No one could describe the agony.

No one should ever _feel_ that kind of pain.

Even now that Bellatrix wasn't actually torturing her anymore, every cell in her body still trembled with pain.

She didn't even have the strength to lift a hand and wipe away the blood coming out of her eyes and nose.

She would have liked nothing better than to bit Crouch when he'd taken her tears – but moving hurt too much.

Even if she should survive this night, she would never forget the look in Harry's eyes when he'd realised what Bellatrix was about to do. When he'd realised that she had seen this coming and had still come here.

Just like she would never forget the sight that presented itself now.

Voldemort looked even more horrifying than thirteen years ago. His skin whiter than a skill, his eyes a bright, angry scarlet red and slits in place of a nose, like a snake, he had never looked less human.

He didn't pay much attention to anyone or anything as he examined his new body.

Then he leaned down and pulled the rat's left arm out from under the sobbing traitor – and revealed the Dark Mark.

Marina couldn't hear the words he whispered as he pressed down on the tattoo.

But she heard Wormtail's cry of anguish.

And Crouch's and Bellatrix' gleeful laughter as they threw their heads back, as if suddenly high.

"Now we shall see," Voldemort hissed almost gently. "How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it? And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?"

Harry kept staring at his living nightmare as the walking skeleton recounted his family history.

Marina took a second to feel proud. Anyone else would have fainted in fear by now, but not her brother.

And then they came.

* * *

One by one the hooded figures crawled towards their master, kissing his robes as if he was a king, before standing up and waiting.

How many of them would die for renouncing him all those years ago? How many realised they could pay dearly at some point for that? How many were foolish enough to think he'd forgive and forget?

Marina focused back on the drama before her.

"I see you all, whole and healthy, with your powers intact – such prompt appearances – and I ask myself… why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?"

 _Because they're not complete morons_ , she thought wryly. No one dared move, or even breathe. The silence was suffocating.

"And I answer myself," Voldemort continued, his whisper somehow holding more menace than if he had been shouting. "They must have believed me broken, they thought I was gone. They slipped back among my enemies, and they pleaded innocence, ignorance and bewitchment….

And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death? They, who had seen proof of the immensity of my power, in the times when I was mightier than any wizard alive?

And I answer myself, perhaps they believe a still greater power could exist, one that could vanquish even Lord Voldemort… perhaps they now pay allegiance to another… perhaps that champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and Muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"

Could he smell their fear with that unnatural nose of his, as well as she could sense it?

"I am disappointed…"

One of the Death Eaters took that as the worst of statements and begged his forgiveness. Voldemort answered by torturing Avery.

Bellatrix cackled in delight, and even Crouch looked elated.

Marina was half convinced she would throw up when their Lord and Master _gave Wormtail a new hand_. Rewarding the rat's cowardice.

If only she could get to her wand.

Then Voldemort stepped forward and approached the Death Eater on the rat's right.

"Lucius, my slippery friend…"

She didn't pay attention to their nonsense as her thoughts drifted to Narcissa and Draco. Hopefully Ben's open paranoia had been enough warning and Cissa would grab her son and go into hiding tonight. She couldn't be home when Lucius returned. Well, _if_ he returned. He'd renounced his Lord as much all the others.

But Voldemort walked on.

"The Lestranges should stand here," he said as he reached a gap in the circle. "Both are buried alive in Azkaban. They went to jail rather than renounce me. When we break open Azkaban, they will be honoured. As will Bellatrix and Barty here."

With that, collective attention went to the two Death Eaters not standing in the circle, not trying to prostate themselves for his mercy. They'd stayed loyal and stood tall because of it.

It made Marina sick.

"They are both due credit for their efforts to have our guests of honour arrive here tonight."

She couldn't see their faces because of the damned masks, but she could _feel_ their eyes on her. She was sure that Harry could too.

When the menace touched her brother's scar, her skull throbbed with his pain.

Lily's protection had been rendered ineffective. He could touch him now.

Marina forced herself to pay attention and the bane of their existence recounted the tale of his fall – how he had not counted on the fact that Lily's love would protect Harry and had therefore been stripped of his body and power – and how he had settled in Albania until the poor fool Quirrell had stumbled onto him.

And then the rat had returned to him and, under careful instruction, had given him back that miserable excuse of a temporary body he had inhabited before.

He had sent Wormtail to seek out the rogue Dementors – a feat Marina was surprised the coward had managed – and bid them to free Crouch and the Lestranges.

With his most loyal servants returned to him, he'd come up with the convoluted plan to get to Harry. Marina had not been _necessary_ for the potion, but it would ensure that even if a Black died trying to save Harry, no protection like Lily's would come from it.

Well, that explained why she was alive.

Crouch laughed in satisfied pride when his master recounted how they'd overcome Mad-Eye to have Junior take his place – and how Voldemort had subdued Barty Crouch Senior and forced him to mess with the Tournament under the Imperius.

The Ministry had been watching the man for weeks and not seen any signs of it.

Finally, the sordid tale came to an end.

And he unleashed the Cruciatus on Harry.

* * *

It only lasted a few seconds, but her brother slumped in his restraints all the same.

The sight gave her enough determination to claw herself into a somewhat more dignified position.

"Get away from him, you coward," she spat through her clenched teeth, loud enough for even the laughing Death Eaters to hear.

"Takes real power to attack an unarmed fourteen-year-old," she hissed sarcastically, as she forced herself to stand on her shaking leg, trembling with pain – well aware of Bella's wand pointed at her. "Just like it takes real power to attack a helpless infant."

The Death Eaters went silent, holding their breath at her insolence.

Those red eyes stared at her, as if stunned by her foolish courage (if you could call it that, really) for a second, the those slit-pupiled eyes flicked to Bellatrix.

Marina braced herself for the pain – that never came.

Because Bellatrix had aimed her curse at someone else.

She almost moaned in terror when one of the Death Eaters crumpled – the only one who hadn't been laughing.

The one who should have stayed away and gotten his son to safety.

"And then there we have the one who did not only betray me-," Voldemort said, completely ignoring her, "-but would try and help my enemies."

Bellatrix whipped the man's mask of with a flick of her wand and Benjamin stared up defiantly at the crowd of crazy people.

But they hadn't disarmed him – and Marina could sense what spell he was casting silently.

It was beyond risky, never mind beyond foolish since they'd killed him immediately once they caught on.

Then something else occurred to her.

"How did you know?" she asked, dread churning her insides. "How did you know he'd switched sides?"

The thin lips curled into a grin, which made his pseudo-face look so much worse.

Voldemort waved his wand in the general direction of a few trees, and a person came stumbling out. No autonomous thought there – whoever it was, was completely under the Imperius.

"Take the hood off," Voldemort ordered smoothly. His victim complied.

And Marina gasped.

Harry gaped.

Even Benjamin seemed stunned.

Because the person staring at them with empty eyes, and no control over body or mind whatsoever, was none other than Elvira Rookwood.

* * *

She had _not_ seen this coming. Her friend would rather die than help the Death Eaters, and Voldemort must have known that.

Deep underneath the spell and his iron clawed control over her, Elvira was aware what was happening. Locked inside her own mind.

But even faced with the horror of this, she realised something else.

Elvira was inner circle. She knew everything Marina and their other friends knew.

And now, so did Voldemort.

"The Imperius wears of," Benjamin stated with some semblance of calm; while Marina was still busy staring at her friend and trying to will her to break free of the curse.

"Igor has served his purpose well," Crouch chuckled. _Karkaroff_. Of course. He would have had easy access too, given that Elvira was dating Viktor.

"Perhaps she should be aware for this," Voldemort announced – and removed the Imperius.

Elvira blinked fast, lightly shaking her head as if to get her bearings.

When she looked up, the blood drained from her face as she realised it hadn't just been a nightmare.

"No," she said, appalled. "No, no, no."

A toxic mix of fear, despair and shame took hold of her, and Marina couldn't do anything.

Elvira looked at her, misery and an apology written all over her face, when she heard Bellatrix again.

" _Crucio_ _!_ "

Her leg gave out as the curse hit. It seemed worse than before somehow, her nerve endings still raw.

She could dimly hear them all laughing – and Elvira sobbing.

Marina knew that this time there would be no end. The ritual was over, so they didn't need her alive anymore.

But she had to hang on. There were worse things than death and Bellatrix would cheerfully break her mind and leave her at her father's doorstep like that.

If she could just stay sane, maybe Voldemort would kill her.

Lovely macabre thoughts.

Her scar slit open and Bellatrix moved her wand, now aiming at her chest.

She could barely breath – or scream – already when a rib cracked.

Bleeding out or suffocating because of a punctured lung would be better than this.

Her vocal cords were burning and she suspected she'd rip them soon, wondering why she wasn't passing out.

But it stopped.

Marina wiped the blood from her eyes – dying blind was not an option.

Voldemort was standing there with his free hand raised, presumably to stop Bellatrix.

"Impressive," he hissed – clearly not impressed. "More powerful wizards have succumbed to Bella at this point before."

She glared – as much as she could, trembling from head to toe.

"No matter," he said with a grandiose gesture. "I want you all to see this.

I want there to be no mistake in anybody's mind. Harry Potter escaped me by a lucky chance. And I am going to prove my power by killing him, here and now, in front of you all, when there is no Dumbledore to help him, and no mother to die for him.

I will give him his chance. He well be allowed to fight, and you all will be left in no doubt which of us is the stronger.

Just a little longer, Nagini" he added, looking at the giant snake at his feet.

"Untie him and give him back his wand."

* * *

Neither Ben or Elvira nor Marina could do anything to stop the farce of a duel. None of them tried. The Death Eaters might see it as them succumbing to the inevitable.

Ben saw it as his chance to send the Patronus message to the cavalry, as they were all preoccupied.

Elvira was still to traumatised for anything.

And Marina watched with rapt attention – because she knew something Voldemort didn't.

She had never told anyone about the premonition, and she hadn't even told Harry just _how_ he would get away.

She was pretty sure that by now he had completely forgotten that he could – or didn't believe it anymore.

In spite of the mess they were in, pride filled her when Harry shook of Voldemort's Imperius. Something not even Mad-Eye had been able to do.

Her brother dodged the next curse, hiding behind a headstone. Marina knew he wouldn't for long.

She sensed acceptance and determination from where he was standing – and then the brave idiot flung himself out to face his enemy.

Harry's " _Stupefy!_ " sounded simultaneously with Voldemort's " _Avada Kedavra!_ "

It didn't take long and then the most wondrous thing happened.

Their wands – brothers, even though Riddle didn't know that – connected. The blazing golden light locked everyone out of the duel; not that anyone would dare interfere anyway.

It also forced a Prior Incantatem.

Marina braced herself as the old muggle Harry had seen in his nightmares materialised as some sort of ghost-like echo. Bertha Jenkins, in death completely clear-minded, came next; crying for Harry not to let go.

And then came her mother. Even from this far, she recognised her.

Rose didn't leave the dome of light – if they even could – and she barely moved as she looked at Marina.

Everything that needed to be said had been said in the letters.

And so Rose nodded with a small smile – and then went on to encourage Harry to hang on.

Marina wasn't completely ready for what came next, so she'd never comprehend how Harry didn't collapse from it all.

Lily came out of Voldemort's wand next, as beautiful as the day she'd died.

James followed almost instantly. He and Lily talked to Harry for a few moments – giving him instructions on how to survive, she supposed, – and then her brother nodded. Ready for what was to come.

James looked over at her from inside the dome of light – and for a moment her second godfather was back, smiling.

" _ **Tell him we never blamed him**_ ," his ethereal, echoing voice sounded loud enough for her to hear. " ** _That we'd want to one else but them to be Harry's parent. Take care of each other, Kitten._** "

Fresh tears, this time not from pain, ran down her face as she nodded – the goodbye they'd never gotten.

Ben, proving he was paying attention, sent her wand flying over to her.

Even Bellatrix was too busy freaking out over what was happening to notice.

And the second Harry broke the connection, all hell broke loose. Again.

Voldemort's victims descended on him, blocking his path. Ben and Marina sent bursts into the Death Eaters, distracting them.

And Harry, blessed be his parents, activated his emergency portkey – returning to the safety of Hogwarts.

* * *

Of course, Marina hadn't counted on Ben and his plan. Hogwarts was still safe enough, with its wards, Mad-Eye and Dumbledore.

But almost at the same time Harry disappeared, a whole host of other people apparated.

Her father, Remus, Jupiter, Laura, Arthur, Molly, Andromeda, Ted, Dora, Hestia, Kingsley, Bill, Fleur, Talib, Bianca, Viktor, Charlie, Irina, David, Elias, Carmen and _**Narcissa**_ – they arrived just in time to hear Voldmort's scream of fury as he realised Harry had escaped him yet again.

They were still outnumbered by the Death Eaters, but the element of surprise was on their side.

Half of the masked idiots crumpled, hit, before they could even turn to face their opponents.

Marina tried to stand, regardless. They would lose against Voldemort. And Bellatrix and Crouch.

Even as she though it, more aurors appeared. Apparently, someone had thought to call for backup before coming to the rescue.

Numbers even now, the Death Eaters were losing.

Carmen dropped to her knees beside her, already waving her wand over her utterly damaged body.

"You're still shaking," her friend muttered even after all visible wounds were healed. Marina couldn't look at her – didn't dare look David's way, lest he caught a glimpse of her eyes and realised what had happened.

"An hour of the Cruciatus will do that," Ben grumbled, anger sounding though loud and clear. He was itching to join the fight, but Bellatrix' curse had numbed his legs.

Marina winced. If it had been an hour after Ben had arrived… it had been at least that long before.

It had taken all night to break Frank and Alice, so she counted herself lucky.

Carmen visibly bit her tongue, tears in her eyes.

Voldemort's scream of rage had them turning their heads.

Dumbledore had arrived. It was over.

And finally, Marina succumbed to dark.


	36. Sword of Damocles

Every single cell in her body hurt. Not surprising. But she was way too comfortable, meaning she was in some infirmary. Back at the castle, most likely.

Her empathy did not work as well as usual, so she couldn't tell people apart, but there were a lot of them around her. Pacing, whispering. Worrying.

Marina was in no mood to recount what had happened tonight … was it still tonight? … so she kept her eyes closed.

That was just as bad. Her brain, now awake, was not on board with leaving her in peace. The monster's face was burned into her retinas, Bellatrix' cackle still ringing in her ears. Elvira's expression when she'd realised she had been enslaved to help the people she despised…

Not to mention the small detail that they were now at full-on war and needed to plan. With their master back, the Death Eaters would do worse than muggle-sport.

Before she could let someone know she was awake, however, the agitated whispers turned into more.

"You cannot be serious," Carmen almost hissed in outrage.

"Ms Nott, you need to realise-", Fudge replied with uncommon steel in his voice. Yet he never got to finish whatever nonsense he had been about to level at her friend.

"No, we don't," Harry snapped, as angry as she had ever heard him. "My sister was tortured, _tortured_ , tonight. You don't get to waltz in here and accuse her of lying."

At that, her eyes snapped open. As to be expected, everyone was here. All her friends – all Harry's friends –, Dad, Hestia, Remus, Mad-Eye, Dora… the Weasleys, the Notts….

Marina was surprised Madame Pomfrey had not yet kicked the crowd out.

"You cannot expect, Mr Potter, that I would take the word of two disturbed children…"

Yes, she was going to have to kill Rita Skeeter. But first…

"Half the Auror department saw it with their own eyes," she butted in, heaving herself into a sitting position.

Everyone's heads collectively snapped around to stare at her.

Harry all but fell out of his bed next to her and sat on hers, hugging her. She would have to talk to him about what she sensed. He had no business feeling guilty.

"So – what did I miss?"

"He got away," her Dad growled, sat on her other side and took her hand, visibly forcing himself not to do more.

"The Aurors arrested Lucius, Avery, Macnair and Parkinson," Remus added mildly. "The rest escaped as well."

 _Bellatrix_.

She flinched in pure reflex. That maniac was still free.

"How the bloody hell did the rat manage to get away?" she asked, frustrated. How did that traitor keep having so much luck?

"Crouch disapparated with him. On orders, we presume," Elias replied, no happier than she was. David, she noted, was glaring at his three-times boss.

"Their loyalty is questionable," Fudge said pompously – only now answering her earlier statement. Marina gaped.

"The Aurors' loyalty is in question? They have one job, Minister. To keep us all safe. And why in Merlin's name would anyone make that up?" Hestia asked with bite in her tone.

"They seem more concerned about Ms Black's and Mr Potter's good opinion, supporting their need for attention and disregarding any and all protocol."

Oh yes, he'd been reading Skeeter's column. Word for word.

"David, take my memories," she asked her boyfriend, her eyes never leaving the coward in charge. The wizarding world was so doomed. "Then take it up to Dumbledore's pensieve. Perhaps seeing it with his own eyes will convince the Minister."

Fudge cringed so hard he actually took a step back.

" _I_ am convinced," a new voice came from the doorway.

She had never seen the man before. He had tawny hair that he kept in a messy mane that fell to his shoulders. His eyes were tinged yellow. Marina estimated him Amelia's age, despite his more worn look. But this was no bureaucrat.

David, Elias, Dora, Kingsley, and even her Dad all stood straight. _Almost at attention_. Which told her exactly who this man was.

"Mr Scrimgeour," she greeted the Head of the Auror Office grumpily. Even if the man believed them, right now she was too annoyed to be polite to anyone.

He nodded, eyes sharp, and waved at his employees to relax.

"The rest of my men have informed me of tonight's events," Scrimgeour announced to the room. "My office will take steps to prepare."

"Whatever you need," Amelia agreed and nodded in respect. "Just call my office."

Right, because despite her cordial tone, she was his boss.

"Not without my approval, you won't," Fudge huffed indignantly.

Scrimgeour and Amelia, without looking at each other, both raised an eyebrow.

"How would you propose to run the Ministry without aurors and without my people?" Jupiter asked calmly, but any moron could see the anger in his eyes.

"You wouldn't…"  
"You have a choice to make, Cornelius," Dumbledore joined the fray. "Your Department Heads already have. Are you going to do the right thing or not?"

* * *

"And he just walked out?" Andromeda asked.

It was two days later, and she was about to be released to attend the feast. The speech would be depressing this year.

"Without a word. Turned on his heels and left. Amelia and Jupiter are talking to their colleagues. I think they're preparing a Vote of No Confidence to relieve Fudge of office."

"That takes time," she replied, surprised, and smoothed non-existent wrinkles out of the sheet.

"Months, probably," Marina agreed. "But if he won't fight, someone has to."

So far, everyone had taken great pains not to ask her any questions. Harry had told the whole lot what had happened. He had also scarcely left her side at all.

Everyone else was busy reassembling the Order. Next month, she was turning seventeen and there could be no more argument that she was too young to join. Not that her Dad would have argued, but she didn't really want to fight with Dromeda, Laura and Molly either.

"Fudge is a fool," Narcissa announced, joining her sister at Marina's bedside. Her tone was coloured with disgust… and fear.

"Tell me he is not making your life harder than it needs to be."

Narcissa had been with Lucius when he had been summoned and so she had known before anyone else that their worst fears had come true. Kreacher had been under standing orders for this very instance and so Cissa had summoned him to help her move all her belongings to her new home.

Benjamin's house.

It had the best protections money could buy and magic could build. Also, not about to risk losing his younger son as well, Ben had placed the house under the Fidelius.

So Draco and his best friend would live together for the time being.

Once that had been done, after the events of the Solstice, Narcissa had filed for resolution of marriage. Wizard divorces did not happen often, but everyone had the right; by law.

"He can't," Narcissa answered with a trace of her old arrogance. "The Ministry has no legal standing in civilian proceedings. And there is no judge on the Wizengamot who will deny me my freedom, now that Lucius is a proven and incarcerated Death Eater."

"You and Ben need to come up with a plan," Marina said, worried. "You're traitors to the maniacs now, and we know how well they take that."

"We're working on it," Narcissa assured her. "We're more worried about you at this point."

"So I've noticed," she replied dryly, gesturing to the heap of presents and cards that had amassed next to her. "But I doubt if all the therapy in the world is going to fix this one."

Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw – and heard – Bellatrix. Phantom pain would take over until she remembered to use the techniques she'd mastered to snap herself out of her premonitions.

"Marina, I…"

"Don't you dare apologise, Dromeda. You and Cissa are not responsible for your sister."

Not that the wizarding world agreed. Bellatrix' atrocities brought down outrage on everyone who shared even a trace of blood with her.

"Everyone is getting Ministry support-," Cissa picked off while Dromeda blinked against her tears, "-shielding all our homes with the best protection there is."

"How did they get that past Fudge?"

"Took it to the Wizengamot directly. He was outvoted after most the Auror Department testified to what happened."

"Lovely. It's not like we have real problems or anything."

* * *

"You cannot put that on yourself again!"

Marina winced. Getting dressed behind the room divider might shield her from being seen, but her ears still worked perfectly fine.

"What choice do we have?"

You knew things were really bad when Remus and Dad argued like this.

"One of you tell me what's going on," she said and stepped out, putting on her tie.

Neither one of them seemed particularly eager.

"There is only one way to effectively keep them away from home," her father finally got out, a stubborn undertone to his voice. Marina stared.

"No. Just no," she denied. "The house is surrounded by so much protective magic, even birds won't get through. We don't need a Fidelius." _Yet_.

"They'll be out for your and Harry's blood."

"They always were. But even Voldemort and Bellatrix aren't bold enough to march to our front door. Not before they have numbers."

"I'm not staking your lives on that."

"It's just for the summer. We'll be back in the castle in September. And even they can't recruit an army that fast."

She sincerely hoped.

* * *

The ride home on the Express was as depressed as it had ever been. No one actually brought up the subject, but everyone thought about it.

Between Harry's friends and hers, they'd taken up four compartments.

Marina had cracked the day before, after Dumbledore's speech, and had told them how she was feeling, which was not great.

She'd had to ask Madame Pomfrey for more Sleeping Potion, because every time she closed her eyes, she was back at that cemetery. Harry wasn't doing much better.

Hestia and Remus had talked her Dad out of the Fidelius, for now, and she'd offered Grimmauld Place as headquarters for the Order. They could hardly meet at one of their homes.

That one Dumbledore had under a Fidelius.

She'd also thought a lot and realised that no one with Black blood sacrificing him – or herself would cause a blood protection now. Not if Voldemort was casting the curse.

But why bother with that extra step of he'd been convinced that Harry would die that night? Who was he planning to kill that a Black might protect?

So much for her promise to… everyone… that she wouldn't drive herself batty.

Marina was grateful for the distraction when Harry asked the twins just who they'd been blackmailing all year. How had she missed that?

When they told them what Bagman had done – bloody fool, messing with goblins – Harry looked at her, an almost exited look in his eyes. She nodded.

The day before the feast, a Ministry representative had shown up and given them their Tournament winnings: 500 galleons each, since they'd shared the win.

Neither one of them wanted it.

So when they arrived at King's Cross, Harry dug out the money and handed it to a very flabbergasted George.

"Take it," Harry said firmly. "We don't want it."

"You're mental," George replied, trying to give it back.

"No, I'm not. You take it and get inventing. It's for your joke-shop."

"He _is_ mental," Fred said in awe.

"Listen," Marina spoke up. "If you don't take it, we'll throw it down the drain. We don't want it and we don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We all could do with a few laughs."

"I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long," Harry added.

"But…," George said weakly, "there's got to be a thousand Galleons in here."

"Yeah," Harry ginned broadly. "Think how many Canary Creams that is."

She snorted a laugh.

The twins stared.

"Just don't tell Molly where you got it… though she might not be totally against it anymore…," Marina trailed off.

"But-"

"Look," Harry said flatly, pulling his wand. "Take it or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now."

"Just do us all a favour, ok? Buy Ron that Cleansweep Eleven he wants and say it's from you."

It was a more expensive gift than the Weasleys could usually afford but he had earned it. Plus, if he wanted on the House Team, he needed a broomstick.

Harry and Marina left before the twins could keep arguing. Their entourage was waiting for them at Platform 9 ¾ already.

War was coming for them, for Harry especially, but he wouldn't be facing it alone.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry it took so long. I've been very sick for months. But more will follow soon...**


	37. Dwelling

"What the bloody hell does that mean?"

Marina winced outside her father's study. He was talking with his boss through the floo.

Apparently, the political end of the Order's efforts wasn't going so well.

Jupiter, Amelia and the entire Auror Department had been rallying supporters to get Fudge booted from office for over a month now.

Unfortunately, the Minister was doing much the same. Thanks to 'official comment', the wizarding world was now being convinced that she had had a mental breakdown and Harry was simply lying to keep his fame and get attention.

Anything to avoid facing the truth.

Meanwhile, the Order was trying to ensure Voldemort wouldn't get his old supporters back; that was why Hagrid – and presumably Madame Maxime – were traipsing through the mountainside, looking for giants.

The Notts had joined the Order, all except Tyler, as had the Weasleys.

Marina took it as a very bad sign of the general situation that Molly had not even tried to protest Fred and George joining.

Ron had been a different story. At fifteen, he was still a minor. All of Harry's friends were.

So the parents had collectively decided not to let them join. Even her Dad.

But the compromise was that they wouldn't keep them out of the loop, members or not.

Harry's birthday last week had been decidedly more sedate than last year, but he'd still celebrated with his whole lot of friends from all houses.

Now they were running out of time, in more ways than one.

Fudge was still in office, fighting the Order with everything he had. The fool had even threatened to fire Scrimgeour. She really would have loved a ring seat for that.

People were in the dark, everywhere, and entirely unprepared for the day when Voldemort decided to make his big move.

And to make matters even worse, some of the Order's allies had spotted Bellatrix and Crouch approaching an old follower of their master: Fenrir Greyback.

The very monster that had bitten Remus when he'd still been all of five years old.

A beast that was, unfortunately, loyal to Voldemort.

There was no way of talking the wolves out of following him. The world shunned them for being cursed and he offered them freedom to indulge their monstrous instincts.

Same thing with the dementors. They hadn't left their posts at Azkaban _yet_ , but it was only a matter of time.

Marina looked out the window, making out the vague profiles of Harry, Ron, Draco, Theo, Daphne and Ginny practicing Quidditch. The other girls, she knew, were sitting at the edges, watching. So were Neville and Anthony.

Everyone had stuck together this summer. Each house was always crammed with visitors, fear of being ambushed driving them all a bit crazy.

She sighed.

While her friends had spent the past weeks trying not to lose their minds over what might happen, Marina had been made to see Teresa almost daily. But she highly suspected that this one, Teresa couldn't fix.

She couldn't sleep without potion. And Mad-Eye had, understandably, neglected to teach them all that the Cruciatus lasted a lot longer than the actual casting of the curse. She still got muscle tremors and phantom pain – mostly at inconvenient times.

It would pass eventually, though no one could tell her when. And she wasn't the only one wrestling with her demons.

Elvira was, simply put, a mess.

She blamed herself for what had happened, despite repeated reassurances that it hadn't been her fault. They would have found a way to get to Harry with or without her, and there had certainly been enough wizards to succumb to much weaker Imperiuses.

But she spent most nights wide awake, never letting go of her wand, for fear of being enslaved again. The Imperius had done one hell of a number on her – and she cursed her father for his choices every day, since that was what put her on the Death Eaters' list.

The war hadn't even started and everything was going to hell.

"It means-," Scrimgeour replied in her Dad's study, "-we're a vote short. Without majority, we can't relieve Cornelius of office."

And then there was that.

"He is going to get people killed and they are sitting around and letting him!"

"Pallas is still talking to some members…"

Elias' father had been the first to join them in trying to have Fudge replaced. He and his wife had joined the Order too. His vote on the Wizengamot would be needed.

She sighed again.

If anyone was supposed to eat tonight, she'd better start dinner.

* * *

Marina was just about done with the meatloaf – her Dad's favourite – when David arrived.

She put down the cutlery she'd been about to place so he wouldn't notice her trembling hands.

Once the entourage had left the infirmary after the third task, David had stayed behind.

She had seldom felt that much anger. His wand, safely in his robe, had shot sparks through the cloth, reacting to the rage he'd been trying to suppress.

Then he'd promised to personally go after Bellatrix.

It had been one hell of an argument to talk him out of that – some of Madame Pomfrey's vases had even exploded.

Still, she wouldn't let him commit suicide. Now that Bellatrix had her master back, she wouldn't soon leave his side.

So instead, David hadn't left _her_ side for more than his shifts and when her father or Remus was with her.

Marina had refused to let him see her memories and made Harry promise he wouldn't let David take his either. Witnessing Frank and Alice' torture had been trauma enough. He really didn't need to see something similar happening to her – or anyone else really.

He wound his arms around her from behind and pulled her back against him.

For all that she was putting on a good act most of the time, as usual he could see right through her. He knew she was still in pain sometimes.

She leaned against him and took a minute. David didn't believe her, but the pain and memories actually eased when she was with him.

Her very own knight in shining robes, without doing more than holding her.

"No sign of them," he mumbled before she could ask and leaned his forehead against the back of her head. "It's like they vanished into thin air."

"Close enough, probably," Marina sighed. "They wouldn't allow Greyback to roam fee just yet. He's too much of a loose cannon."

And the Minister's insistence to ignore his return actually played in Voldemort's favour. This way, he had all the time in the world to garner supporters – and kill those who refused.

"How is Harry holding up?" David asked and sat down, pulling her on his lap in the process.

"Throughout the day? Better than me. Especially with the gang around – they've been practicing Quidditch for weeks now, to get Ron on the house team. And I swear Arthur passed his fascination for muggle stuff on to that one – I've never heard so much talk about Muggle Studies, ever."

David snorted a laugh and hugged her harder for a moment, waiting for the rest.

"At night though… he's as bad as I am. Worse actually, since he doesn't ask for Sleeping Draught. No, he wakes up every night, shaking and yelling my name." Reliving her torture if the haunted look in his eyes was anything to go by.

"How do you know?"

Marina closed her eyes. Yes, she had just busted herself.

"I don't always take the potion," she admitted with a sigh. "I'm trying to get over it. But I can't sleep without it, so I end up wandering the house."

"Does Sirius know?"

She actually huffed a laugh at that.

"What, you think he sleeps any better? He turns into Padfoot and lies in front of our bedroom doors all night, standing guard.

And if anyone can understand not sleeping well, it's Dad. I don't think he's had a good night's sleep in fourteen years."

She absentmindedly waved her wand and saved the food from turning into coal.

"How is Carmen, really?" she asked after a minute.

Her friend was putting on a brave face almost as good as hers, but she should really have known she couldn't fool Marina.

She must have really presented a sight at that graveyard because Carmen could barely look at her without bursting into tears.

"Her best friend was almost tortured to death," David replied grimly. "She's a wreck."

 _And so am I._ He didn't say it but then again, he didn't have to.

It was time for the conversation she'd been successfully avoiding so far.

"Say it," she said quietly and turned around as much as she could, looking at him.

He met her eyes, looking for she wasn't sure what. But whatever it was, he must have found it because for the first time since the third task, he didn't strangle his own emotions.

"What were you thinking?" he asked, remarkably calm given how mad he really was at her.

"It was the only way," she almost whispered, well aware of the agony that night had caused everyone involved.

"You don't know that," he all but growled and shook her once. Even in his anger, he was being careful not to hurt her.

"No, I don't know for sure," she capitulated. "But I wasn't going to take the risk. Not with Harry's life at stake."

"He wouldn't have _been_ at risk if you'd come to us."

"Or we would have gotten him killed sooner," she argued. "Elvira was under the Imperius. Crouch was under the Imperius. Who's to say they didn't have orders to kill him if the plan failed? Who's to say they were the only ones?"

Crouch Jr had had ample time to enslave a couple of people more.

"How do you think he feels, knowing you let yourself be tortured?"

"Awful. But still better than I would have felt if he'd died because I messed with things none of us understand."

Apparently not done yet, David took a breath for his next argument, but Marina cut him off.

"Tell me you wouldn't have done the same if it had been Carmen or Ty. Tell me you wouldn't do the same right now if it saved them."

He deflated instantly. There was nothing he wouldn't do for his siblings. Instead he tightened his hold on her, as if afraid she'd vanish any second.

"I'm not so sure if I can handle you becoming an auror," he muttered after a full five minutes.

Marina smiled weakly.

"Then we have a problem. Scrimgeour and three of his aurors tested me personally last week. If I get the necessary N.E.W.T.s, then he'll not only allow me into the programme but cut it a year short – I practically passed _Concealment and Disguise_ already and didn't do too bad in _Stealth and Tracking_. We'll see about _Poisons and Antidotes_. But I'm as good as in."

* * *

 **Outside Liberty House**

"You'll get a spot, mate. No problem," Harry assured Ron when they all took a break. They'd done nothing but practice since school had ended.

Hermione and Susan spent most their time, when they weren't studying, talking about new recipes – and politics.

Neville and Anthony, oddly enough, had become fast friends when they'd tutored each other – in Herbology and Transfiguration, respectively – and bonded over their shared lack of enthusiasm for flying.

Hannah and Daphne both absolutely loved Care of Magical Creatures – even taught with Hagrid's penchant for dangerous beasts and had discovered many similarities from there.

Astoria had invited her best friend, Luna Lovegood, along. While she was … weird, to say the least, she was great too. The Greengrass' parents must have been horrified.

Harry was glad that it was always crowded. That way, no one had so much time to wonder-

"How is Marina, Harry? Really," Susan questioned, and silence descended.

He fidgeted on his broomstick.

It hadn't taken much time for his friends, and even less for hers, to figure out what she'd done and why.

Harry blinked at the sudden flash of her agonized face. He wondered if that would ever stop.

"During the day she's _almost_ back to normal. Hell, she even had an interview with Scrimgeour last week. Pending her grades, he's accepted her into the programme."

"But?" Hermione pressed, looking up at him sharply. His stomach fluttered, and he found that he couldn't lie.

"She doesn't sleep. Not without draught at least. She wanders the house with that look in her eyes sometimes… like she's back there." He wouldn't tell them about her tremors. That was his sister's business alone.

"At least she's not shutting anyone out this time."

It was inevitable. Talking about his sister led to general depression because it reminded everyone of that night.

Then Ron spoke up, as the players landed.

"I've been doing some digging. After you told us what happened, I wondered why He bothered protecting against Blacks.

Half the wizarding families in England have some Black blood, including mine."

"So dying for each other would be completely useless," Ginny added. "Our blood wouldn't render protection for anyone."

"I have Black blood too," Harry added quietly. "My grandmother, Dorea Potter, was born a Black. **1** "

"So with one bloody potion, he made sure history wouldn't repeat itself," Daphne grumbled unhappily. "He discounted the power of love before, but he won't again." She threw an arm around her sister while saying it.

"Maybe we should have asked who he _isn't_ planning on killing," Theo mumbled darkly. "Might save us a lot of time."

"Probably," a new voice joined and they all winced, caught.

Marina shook her head at them, but looked partly amused.

"Dinner's ready. Get cleaned up before you come inside," she told them. "And, by the way, tomorrow is an Order meeting. You'll get an update then. But I wouldn't count on anything too exciting. We're going back to school in three weeks – focus on that. Trust me, it's better for our mental health than trying to wonder what a bunch of lunatics is up to."

* * *

 **1** A/N: I know, I know. It's non-canon, but let's remember it's a fanfic and I'm using Dorea and Charlus as his grandparents. (For those who don't know from Pottermore: James' canon parents were Euphemia and Fleamont Potter)


	38. The Meeting

12 Grimmauld Place was just as sinister and depressing as Marina remembered.

The hallway was dark and covered in cobwebs, despite Kreacher still living here. What was that house-elf doing all day, since he obviously wasn't cleaning the home he loved so much?

Most of the wallpaper was peeling off, the carpet had been trampled thin.

All the non-members of the Order, namely the underage ones, had just arrived with Marina to attend the meeting.

"Looks worse than a mausoleum," Ron commented dryly. Unfortunately, this caused the whole lot to either giggle – the girls – or chuckle in amusement.

The combined noise was enough.

Across the hall, opposite the front door, curtains suddenly opened themselves to reveal a portrait.

" _Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness!_ " the very irate old witch screeched her outrage, at a volume that made everyone cover their ears.

The screams were obviously audible throughout the entire house, because her father and Remus came running. Marina joined them hastily, all of them pulling at the curtains to get them closed.

" _Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place!_ "

"Shut up!" her Dad growled while wrestling with his curtain. The miserable old crone took one look at him and wailed even more.

" _How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-_ "

"He said, SHUT UP!" Marina snapped.

With their combined effort, they got the curtains closed again. As soon as the portrait was covered, the witch fell silent.

"Sorry, Dad. I forgot."

He slung an arm around her, pulled her close, and turned to the teenagers.

"Hello, kids, I see you've met my mother."

They all gaped. Marina had told them the stories she'd heard from Dromeda, Cissa, and even grandpa Arcturus. She'd recounted that her actual grandparents had been pure-blood fanatics and abusive towards her father – even if no one had ever said the latter out loud.

But Walburga's portrait was another league.

"Everyone's already here," Remus told them and led them towards the dining room on the ride side of the hallway. The old dresser with the family crest was still in there.

She didn't want to know what the inside looked like after twelve years of abandonment.

The long wooden dining table was fully occupied.

There were the Notts, Jonathan and Violet Abbott (Hannah's parents), Narcissa, the Weasleys, Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Amelia, the Whitmores and the Advance Guard – the ones who'd gotten everyone here safely from their respective homes; Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Sturgis Podmore, Dora and Hestia. To Marina's great surprise, Victor and Gloria Greengrass were also in attendance. Daphne and Astoria positively burst with pride at the sight.

Theo and Draco, who'd arrived with their respective parent, joined their friends immediately.

"I'm surprised you managed to fit everyone in here," she mumbled as they joined the assembly.

"The more the merrier," her Dad said cheerfully. Nobody was fooled.

They needed all the help they could get. But her father loathed being back in this house, even temporarily; he was just masking it.

"It is none of her concern," a cold voice spoke up. Everyone froze.

Marina had missed one person, hiding in the corner as he was. Unbelievable.

The oversized bat was a member of the Order? Really?

"Don't forget whose house you're standing in," Remus replied coolly.

She couldn't wait until she graduated and could call the menace whatever she wanted.

No matter what Dumbledore said, there was not a single person in the room who really trusted Snape, despite what they kept telling Harry and the others.

Everyone resolved to just ignore Snape as they filled the teenagers in on the Order's non-existent progress.

Voldemort was recruiting actively, and the Order was struggling to do what had to be done while having to fight the Ministry along the way.

Pallas had convinced another pair of Wizengamot members to vote their way, but the next full assembly was in six weeks. Then it would take at least another month to process the Vote of No Confidence and get Fudge out of office.

Not to mention, they had to find a replacement until then.

"So what aren't you telling us?" Harry asked when they'd finished, a determined look on his face.

"Something you don't need to know, Potter," Mad-Eye growled in reply.

Even though the grouch had been rather busy this summer, he'd stopped by once a week to tutor Harry. Amelia had processed the magic permission behind Fudge's back.

Marina just looked at her father. He'd promised full disclosure.

"Voldemort is also after something else, that we're taking turns to guard," her Dad promptly said, ignoring any and all protest. "Something he didn't have last time."

"What more could he possibly need?" Susan questioned, rather frustrated. "He has his fanatic sycophants back, he has his power back. What else is there?"

"A way to win," Hermione suggested hesitantly. "He thought he was unstoppable before."

"Marina's tears took care of that," Ron butted in. "Black blood is widely spread. There won't be any more blood protection."

The adults watched with amused expressions as the teenagers tried to puzzle it out.

Harry stewed on the information in silence, as usual. Then he looked up with dawning understanding.

"A way to kill me," he said. "That's what he wants more than anything right now."

Everyone froze in horror – because it made too much sense.

"What could he be after to help with that?" Carmen asked. "It's not like he needs practice murdering people."

The Order members stayed suspiciously silent.

"You promised to tell them everything," Marina reminded them. It had been the only way to keep them from arguing about membership. Or getting into trouble trying to find stuff out on their own.

"Sirius, no," Mad-Eye grumbled from his corner. But it was no use.

Her father produced a piece of parchment, wrote on it for a while, and then handed it to Marina and Harry, reading over her shoulder.

 _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..._

A chill ran down her spine as her instincts recognised the words of prophecy. It wasn't one of hers, obviously, since it had been made before she'd started **seeing** , but her Sight reacted nonetheless.

She was vaguely aware that Harry was passing it along to their friends, and every single one of them gasped in surprise.

"I think now we know why he targeted the Potters," Susan stated sedately, clearly worried how Harry would take that information.

"I never would have taken Voldemort for the type to believe in prophecy," Carmen ventured and passed it along to her brother.

"But he did," Remus said quietly, never taking his eyes off of Harry.

Marina had another issue though.

"You knew he came after them because of a prophecy, and none of you bothered to tell your resident Seer about it?" she said calmly – but they still winced. "You didn't think Harry had a right to know?"

"Albus only told us this June," Arthur almost apologized.

Of course. Dumbledore.

Marina had a hard time by now, reconciling the man she'd idolised for years with everything she'd learned since then.

"It really was my fault they died," Harry mumbled next to her.

She spun on her seat and took his hand – not all that surprised when Hermione took the other. Her Dad joined them, a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"No, Harry. It's nobody's fault but Voldemort's. He chose to hunt them – he chose to go after you. Don't blame yourself for that maniac."

"But is said-"

"Prophecies are never literal, Harry," she cut him off. "Just look at the one about me. Cryptical nonsense."

"Any ideas what it really means?" Elias asked her, completely ignoring the parents too.

Marina closed her eyes and let the words circle through her mind.

"Roughly? The person able to defeat Voldemort would be born at the end of July, to parents that faced him three times and lived to tell about it. And Voldemort himself would mark him. Other than that? Not a clue."

"Mum and Dad faced him three times?" Harry asked with something resembling awe in his voice. He was a starved for information about James and Lily as ever.

"Yes. They were on Order missions," her father confirmed.

"What is the power I'm supposed to have?" Sarcasm coloured his voice, clearly doubting that part of the prophecy.

"That's probably what he wants to know," Hermione said, in thought. "If he knows how you're supposed to beat him, he can prevent it."

"But the prophecy doesn't say what it is," Draco stated, his annoyance making him sound like his old self.

"Voldemort doesn't know that," Theo muttered distractedly.

Everyone was listening as they thought out loud, trying to make sense of something that didn't have a lot of it.

"You're on guard duty so he'll keep coming," Carmen suddenly announced, staring at her parents in shock. "If they are preoccupied, trying to get that prophecy – believing there is more to it than there actually is because you're guarding it – they can't be busy doing too much else."

Not even Mad-Eye had a smart-ass answer to refute it.

"That's insane," Daphne finally managed to get out, appalled. "Risking your life for essentially nothing."

"It buys us time we need," Jupiter deigned to reply.

"And if one of you dies to protect a prophecy with no use to Him, what then?" Astoria asked, clearly worried about her parents.

"Worst case:," Neville spoke up, "He gets his hands on it. So what? There is nothing there to help him kill Harry."

"As long as he is attempting to get it, he is not murdering people," Amelia said – effectively stifling all protest.

Much as no one in the room wanted to lose any loved ones, they couldn't very well wish it on others. Everyone here knew what they had signed up for.

"What I want to know is who told him that prophecy," Marina said rather grimly. "What kind of moron conveys a Seeing like that to the monster?"

Uncomfortable silence spread.

"It was given to Albus. Someone overheard," Kingsley eventually said.

"Well, whatever Death Eater warned his master was in inconceivable idiot."

They all stared at her in surprise.

"What do you mean, love?" David asked from across the room, the only one brave enough apparently.

"The second part. _… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal…_ it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If that moron hadn't gone after Harry, he wouldn't have killed James and Lily. And if he hadn't murdered his parents, would Harry be **this** determined to fight him? Would he have faced him three times by now? And would people care this much that he keeps surviving?"

"He created his own worst enemy," Bianca said with understanding.

"It also says I have to kill him," Harry interrupted. "Or he'll kill me."

"But you knew that already," Hermione told him gently. "We all knew he was going to keep coming for you."

What in the world was going on with those two? They'd always had less fights than Ron and Hermione, and less bickering than Harry and Susan, but holding hands?

Marina focused elsewhere. That way lay dragons.

"How can he even get the prophecy?" Hannah asked the, belated, question.

"There's a recording of every prophecy in the Ministry," Jonathan answered.

"Are they actually stupid enough to try and get it from the Department of Mysteries?" Marina asked into the room. "Anyone but the subjects of prophecy that tries to remove it will get hexed. Badly."

"They don't seem to know that," Dora replied rather smugly.

"That's quite enough," Laura suddenly stated before Tyler could ask whatever he'd been gearing up for. "It will get us nowhere to keep talking about this in circles."

"She is right," her Dad, of all people, agreed. "Let it sink in. But whatever you do, don't tell anyone else."

"I have to tell Ange," Marina said, simultaneously to Carmen's, "I'm telling Trish."

"All our friends deserve to know," Harry nodded. "They've always helped us."

"If this leaks to the Death Eaters-"

"What's there to leak? They already know about the prophecy, and they know you're guarding it."

Her father raised his hands in surrender, well aware that he couldn't really stop them.

"But not Rookwood," Mad-Eye growled, even grimmer than usual.

Marina snapped.

"Yes, Elvira too. I'm not shutting her out, Mad-Eye."

"She's a risk."  
"She's our friend and it wasn't her fault!"  
"It would be easy to subjugate her again."

" _You_ were imperius-ed too," she accused, furious. "No one's arguing to keep you in the dark."

Much awkwardness ensued.

She didn't think there was anyone but her who would have dared bring that up. She detested hypocrisy.

"Why don't you go upstairs," Molly suggested carefully. "We'll call you kids down for dinner."

And so, everyone from age 14 to 17 fled the room.

* * *

They all bounded up the very creepy staircase, decorated with shrunken house-elf heads. Kreacher's ancestors.

Despite overall curiosity, Marina led them all past the drawing room and the infernal Black family tree tapestry. Walburga had made sure that no sane family members remained on it, so she really didn't need to see it again.

Instead she led them to the second floor, to the largest bedroom, where they all spread out on the beds, sofas and floor. Thankfully, Phineas wasn't in his portrait right now, probably occupying the one in Hogwarts instead.

She figured that the Order members stayed in the bedrooms on the third floor when they decided to stay the night. The fourth floor, and her Dad's old room, was off limits.

"What are you thinking?" the twins asked in unison.

"I'm thinking it gives me a headache," Susan muttered. "All this time, they've been on a nonsensical mission."

"We have to tell Anthony," Hannah said. "His father is an unofficial member. Unofficial only because he doesn't want the Ministry to make trouble for his clients." Mr. Goldstein was an advocate.

"We have to tell everyone. As soon as anyone hears anything about the Death Eaters making bigger moves, we have to convince our parents to stop guarding nonsense," Carmen huffed, none too happy with what was going on.

Fear was a powerful thing. Otherwise her friend would never have suggested ordering her parents around.

"We'll be safe at the castle," Ron said. "So why don't they go on the offensive?"

"Because they want to stop all-out war before it even starts," she answered. "Except the way things are going… all-out war is what we're going to get." **1**

* * *

 **1** A/N: That last line isn't mine either! But I always liked it, so I borrowed it from The Two Towers (Lord of the Rings 2) - the movie.


	39. Once Again

A week had passed since the parents had dropped the bludger of a prophecy on them. Harry was handling it remarkably well.

"So… he'll come for him eventually," Ange said, none too happy.

Marina and Carmen had owled all their friends, and now here they all were, discussing the problem. Elvira still looked no better.

"That wasn't as much of a surprise as that damn prophecy."

"I still can't believe He believes in them."

"I'm not convinced he does," Marina mumbled grimly. "He probably just wanted to make sure."

Angela, Patricia, Katie, Sam, Jolene and Elvira were more shell-shocked than her brother had been. That should probably worry her.

Before anyone could say anything else, the protective wards rattled the house lightly.

"Owls," Carmen explained helpfully. "Anything else wouldn't have gotten through."

And it was time for the book lists from school to arrive.

An entire parliament of owls swooped inside through the open windows, dropping letters when circling back.

"How does Dumbledore always know where we are?" Trish asked while opening hers.

"Pretty sure the parents tell him. He is the head of the Order after all."

Marina ripped the envelope and found the usual letter plus book list, along with the reminder that, as a seventh-year prefect, she would be on detention and patrol duty this year. As would Carmen, Jolene and Elvira. Katie and Sam, and the other sixth-years, would be on chaperone duty this year.

Trish gasped, loudly, and everyone looked at her. She had an odd mix of dread and excitement on her face.

"What is it?"

In response, she emptied the content of her envelope: a badge with the school crest and the letters HG stamped over it. She'd been appointed Head Girl.

"Congratulations…. or condolences. Depends how you look at it."

She tossed the empty piece of paper at Carmen while everyone laughed.

Ange, to no one's great surprise, was holding the Gryffindor captain's badge.

"Well, now that we have the lists, we can go to Diagon Alley," Marina decided. "I'll tell Dad, since I'm sure he'll insist on a protective detail for Harry and the others."

As if mentioning him had summoned her brother, the door opened with a bang and the foursome came running in.

"Whoa, what's the hurry?" she asked, surprised.

Hermione, oddly fidgety for a girl who could sit and read all day, was apparently too excited to speak. So Susan did.

"Hermione, Harry and I were appointed prefects."

She would not comment on how backwards it was to make someone prefect who spent a great deal of time breaking the rules. She would _not_.

"Nice. Dad's gonna tease you to no end," she warned Harry.

Remus on the other hand would praise him to the heavens. Moony had been a prefect himself after all.

"Padfoot is already flooing everyone to meet in Diagon Alley. He says it's safer if we all go together," Harry told her. He was doing a valiant job of hiding his grin and excitement at his new job, so to speak. And he kept peeking at Ron when the redhead wasn't looking.

Oh boy.

Maybe she needed to owl Bill to help her with this one. Marina doubted that Ron actually wanted to be prefect, but his best friend being the favourite once again…

She shook her head and focused.

"Well, that and it's less of a security nightmare if we only do this once."

Susan and Hermione, impatient, grabbed the boys' arms and pulled them out, clearly in a hurry to get ready.

Marina and the other followed. But she couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason so many of their inner circle had been appointed.

* * *

 _In times of old, when I was new,  
And Hogwarts barely started,  
The founders of our noble school  
Thought never to be parted._

 _United by a common goal,  
They had the self-same yearning  
To make the world's best magic school  
And pass along their learning._

 _"Together we will build and teach"  
The four good friends decided.  
And never did they dream that they  
Might someday be divided._

 _For were there such friends anywhere  
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?  
Unless it was the second pair  
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,_

 _So how could it have gone so wrong?  
How could such friendships fail?  
Why, I was there, so I can tell  
The whole sad, sorry tale._

 _Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those  
Whose ancestry's purest."  
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose  
Intelligence is surest."_

 _Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those  
With brave deeds to their name."  
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot  
And treat them just the same."_

 _These differences caused little strife  
When first they came to light.  
For each of the four founders had  
A house in which they might_

 _Take only those they wanted, so,  
For instance, Slytherin  
Took only pure-blood wizards  
Of great cunning just like him._

 _And only those of sharpest mind  
Were taught by Ravenclaw  
While the bravest and the boldest  
Went to daring Gryffindor. _

_Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest  
and taught them all she knew,  
Thus, the houses and their founders  
Maintained friendships firm and true._

 _So Hogwarts worked in harmony  
for several happy years,  
but then discord crept among us  
feeding on our faults and fears._

 _The Houses that, like pillars four  
had once held up our school  
now turned upon each other and  
divided, sought to rule._

 _And for a while it seemed the school  
must meet an early end.  
what with duelling and with fighting  
and the clash of friend on friend._

 _And at last there came a morning  
when old Slytherin departed  
and though the fighting then died out  
he left us quite downhearted._

 _And never since the founders four  
were whittled down to three  
have the Houses been united  
as they once were meant to be._

 _And now the Sorting Hat is here  
and you all know the score:  
I sort you into Houses  
because that is what I'm for._

 _But this year I'll go further,  
listen closely to my song:  
though condemned I am to split you  
still I worry that it's wrong,_

 _Though I must fulfil my duty  
and must quarter every year  
still I wonder whether sorting  
may not bring the end I fear._

 _Oh, know the perils, read the signs,  
the warning history shows,  
for our Hogwarts is in danger  
from external, deadly foes_

 _And we must unite inside her  
or we'll crumble from within  
I have told you, I have warned you...  
let the Sorting now begin._

Marina, sitting with Harry and their Gryffindor friends, looked across the Great Hall. Their friends across the houses met her eyes, a sort of grim understanding marking their faces.

Ron and Harry, discussing this year's rather solemn song, likely had the right of it. That hat spent all year coming up with a new song, sitting in Dumbledore's office like an ornament.

What had the hat heard, to attempt such a warning? Or rather, was there anything he hadn't heard?

The applause was decidedly more sedated than usual, as McGonagall started the sorting ceremony. Marina turned to her brother.

"What's up?" she asked him, sensing his bewilderment.

"Can you see the thestrals?" he questioned quietly – and she almost dropped her goblet.

"Yes. I've always seen them," she answered him. "But how on earth can you?"  
A person could only see the horse-like, and normally invisible, creatures, if he'd seen someone die. Like Marina had her mother and Lily.

"I can't," he replied in surprise. "I thought Luna was…"

Ah. Luna definitely took some getting used to. Most of the time she talked about creatures that most certainly didn't exist, because her father insisted on writing about them in his magazine _The Quibbler_.

"No, this time she's right. The only way to see them is to watch someone die first." In the Ravenclaw's case, it had been her mother, according to Astoria.

Once everyone had stuffed themselves with the feast, Dumbledore made his obligatory speech, warning students away from the Forest and such.

The he introduced Hagrid's replacement, Professor Grubbly-Plank. And the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher; Dolores Umbridge. Fudge's right hand.

The Headmaster was about to continue, when Umbridge stood and cleared her throat loudly, interrupting him. This had to be a first in history; no one interrupted the Headmaster at Hogwarts.

Marina looked to her friends. Elvira had a very hard time holding in her sarcastic smirk, unimpressed, Jolene had her head on her crossed arms and was obviously laughing, and Carmen looked more indignant than she'd ever seen.

Meanwhile, the witch gave the most boring and longwinded speech anyone had ever written, and all the students – except Hermione – started talking with each other, not paying attention.

But at the end of it all, Marina agreed with Hermione, and the few others that had managed to pay attention: the Ministry was trying to interfere at Hogwarts. Fudge really had to be desperate to discredit Dumbledore.

All the seventh-year prefects assembled at the teacher table once the rest of the school was headed for their dormitories. So did the Head Boy, Kevin Sterndale, and Trish.

Meanwhile, the fifth-year prefects corralled the first-years to follow them. Draco and Daphne had been appointed in Slytherin, Susan and Ernie MacMillan in Hufflepuff, and Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein in Ravenclaw.

They were all children of Order members or supporters. Dumbledore was closing ranks.

McGonagall and the other Heads of House gave them a list of detention tasks for when they were needed; at least no Forbidden Forest. Then they worked out the patrol schedule.

During all of it, Umbridge was standing close-by, staring.

"I should not think it necessary for students to patrol the school at night."

Dear Merlin, her voice was grating. As if the bow on her head wasn't bad enough.

"I disagree, Dolores," McGonagall told her without looking at the offending witch. "Students always roam the castle at night. It is the prefect's duty to sanction them and send them back to bed."

"And we cannot be everywhere at once," Sprout added with a nod.

"Then it is hypocrisy, is it not, to appoint Mr Potter. No one breaks rules more."

Snape smirked, but surprisingly didn't say anything. McGonagall couldn't argue the point, in spite of really wanting to.

"To stop Quirrell from stealing the philosopher's stone, to stop a basilisk from petrifying more people and to catch the traitor that got his parents killed," Marina listed through clenched teeth. "Those are the reasons my brother broke the rules. It's hardly the same as other kids sneaking out to vandalise Filch's office or score some candy from the kitchen."

She ignored the twitch of guilt at throwing Fred and George under the bus.

"He's breaking them all the same."

"If that's all, Professor," she addressed McGonagall, so she wouldn't say something unfortunate – albeit true.

"Indeed. Except, it might be wise to ask Mr Potter and the others about their future plans. It's time they started planning."

"You might have more success on that score, Professor. I doubt he'll be honest with me. He'll tell me what he thinks I want to hear."  
But Marina knew. Despite the fact that a Death Eater in disguise had first mentioned it, her brother was keen on following their father's and her footsteps. He wanted to become an auror alright. Mad-Eye's confirmation that he had talent for it hadn't helped any.

Harry knew she really didn't like that fact and wouldn't want to worry her.

Just as well, his grades were certainly up to par.

"Very well. Dismissed, everyone," McGonagall sent them off with a wave.

On their way out, Marina had a prickling sensation in her nape and looked back, only to find Umbridge staring at them.

She didn't need her Sight to know that witch was trouble. Just how much remained to be seen.


	40. Darn It All

It was week two since the school-year had started – after the toad had slapped Harry with a week's detention for telling the truth – when everything was sure to go to hell in a handbasket. All the students who knew the truth all but choked over the _Daily Prophet_ over breakfast.

" _ **MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM: DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR**_

 _In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation, giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."_

… … … …

Well, wasn't that just grand. Marina's mood worsened with every line. Ron, no doubt incensed that Percy was a brainwashed idiot, literally tore the paper to pieces when he was done.

"Fudge is getting desperate," Angelina muttered and tossed her edition. The house team was in their Quidditch robes, since they were going to squeeze in a training session before classes; this time with their Seeker present – and their new Keeper, Ron.

"He's been desperate since the minute we told him Voldemort was back," Marina grumbled. "It's another month before the vote. She can do a lot of damage in that time."

She couldn't help but wonder how her father was taking this. Harry had steadfastly refused to tell Sirius just what had been happening during detention – but there was no way Marina could keep that secret. Not when the sight of the scars on his hand made her blood boil. It had, apparently, taken half a dozen people to keep her Dad from storming Hogwarts and cursing the toad. For real. This new development would not go over well.

Worse, Umbridge was refusing to let them use magic during D.A.D.A., punishing so much as pulling out your wand in her class. Thanks to Fudge's idiocy, the children remained unable to protect themselves.

But worst of all – even the Order managed to boot Fudge from office, they'd be stuck with Umbridge for the year. And Harry had his O.W.L.s. Marina had her N.E.W.T.s, for Merlin's sake.

* * *

"It's an unqualified disaster," Elvira announced grimly, weeks later. Umbridge had been 'observing' the teachers, to the point that even Snape seemed ready to hex her. Dumbledore remained hidden in his office, doing who knew what. Hagrid was still not back, officially late, and by the toad's latest decree, even McGonagall seemed to lack as a teacher.

The only light on the horizon was that the vote was taking place today. So by tomorrow at the latest, they should know if there was any hope – or if they'd have to go to war against Voldemort _and_ the Ministry.

* * *

" _ **HISTORICAL DECISION IN THE HALLS OF THE WIZENGAMOT – OFFICIAL VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE AGAINST MINISTER CORNELIUS FUDGE**_

 _Never before in the history of wizard has a Minister of Magic ever been voted out of office. But Mr Fudge seems not to be doing a satisfactory job, at least judging by the outcome of the full Wizengamot vote yesterday afternoon. In an overwhelming majority, our highest judges decided that it was time for the minister to relinquish his office._

' _I am very relieved that sense had prevailed over prejudice and fear,' told Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, our correspondent. 'These are not the times to let ambition and insecurity rule our actions. Our very survival depends on it.'_

 _It is no secret that Madame Bones is a firm supporter of Albus Dumbledore and his organisation, the Order of the Phoenix, which has reportedly been revived to fight the Dark Lord and his followers._

' _Fear has ruled this administration's actions of late, and that is unacceptable,' said Benjamin Nott, a pure-blood member of the Wizengamot with the recently divorced Narcissa (Malfoy) Black standing by his side. 'For all our children's sake, we must face the truth.'_

 _Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office, was in attendance and visibly satisfied by the verdict. 'My people and I have been preparing what we hope to be adequate defences. We cannot do our jobs however, if people do not listen to us.'_

 _Unknown at this point is who is supposed to replace Mr Fudge, now that he is being forced out of office. We are reasonably sure that the Order has a plan for that as well._

 _When questioned on the matter of Harry Potter's and Marina Black's claims that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back, it was Pallas Whitmore – a respected long-time member of the Wizengamot – who replied. 'Many of us saw it with our own eyes. Harry and Marina have been subjected to nothing but slander from Fudge's ministry, when they were trying to save us all. It is abominable.'_

… … … …"

And that was that. The entire school was staring at them _again_ once they'd finished reading.

"That's the first piece of good news since June," Hermione muttered, acutely aware of hundreds of eyes on them.

"It'll still take about a month to get him out. And we were right – we're stuck with the toad this year."

Harry and Ron exchanged a look, feeling not as apprehensive as they should have in response to her comment.

Hermione had, somehow, convinced Harry to give everyone who was interested real lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Her brother had subsequently come to her and asked to help since the numbers of interested people seemed to be staggering.

* * *

 _Marina stared at the list Harry had just presented her. The foursome had snuck out at the first Hogsmeade weekend, met with lots of people and decided to form a group to teach themselves how to fight. Oddly enough, Marina felt… proud. Heaven above, she really was her father's daughter, wasn't she?_

 _Anyhow, given the menace that was Umbridge, the membership list was impressive. She also noted that they had left a space for her – so she signed it._

 _Harry Potter_

 _Hermione Granger_

 _Ron Weasley_

 _Susan Bones_

 _Marina Black_

 _Carmen Nott_

 _Patricia Stimpson_

 _Angelina Johnson_

 _Katie Bell_

 _Fred Weasley_

 _George Weasley_

 _Alicia Spinnet_

 _Elvira Rookwood_

 _Jolene Wood_

 _Draco Malfoy_

 _Theo Nott_

 _Daphne Greengrass_

 _Astoria Greengrass_

 _Colin Creevey_

 _Dennis Creevey_

 _Ginny Weasley_

 _Tyler Nott_

 _Lee Jordan_

 _Samantha Prince_

 _Lavender Brown_

 _Neville Longbottom_

 _Luna Lovegood_

 _Anthony Goldstein_

 _Hannah Abbot_

 _Parvati Patil_

 _Cho Chang_

 _Marietta Edgecombe_

 _Michael Corner_

 _Padma Patil_

 _Terry Boot_

 _Ernie Macmillan_

 _Justin Finch-Fletchley_

 _Zacharias Smith_

 _Demelza Robins_

 _Vincent Ackerley_

 _Hiding this whole thing was going to be an uphill battle, she just knew it._

* * *

Marina blinked out of the memory. Umbridge's decree that banned all groups, teams, clubs and such had come the next day. Somehow, she had found out – and Hermione assured them that if someone had sold them out, they would know.

* * *

 _Dumbledore's Army_. Ugh.

Nobody had objected to the name, not even Marina. Ginny and the others just wanted to thumb their nose at the ministry. But they didn't know that she, at the very least, couldn't trust the Headmaster like she once might have. The more she thought about it… the angrier she got.

It had seemed almost… kind when the man had let Harry go after the Philosopher's Stone. Unpardonably reckless and irresponsible, but kind. Plus, at thirteen she hadn't really appreciated just how easily Dumbledore could have stopped Quirrell.

Sending Fawkes to help against the basilisk… well, Malfoy had made anything else impossible. Except… if a bunch of second-years could find the chamber… how in Merlin's name could Dumbledore not?

There was no use getting started on the dementors. But leaving her father to rot in Azkaban? Why?

But the worst offence by far had been using Harry as bait during the Tournament. It had taken Marina most of the summer to realise… he could have stopped it. Voldemort would, in all likelihood, still have gotten his bony hands on them, but Harry wouldn't have had to fight a dragon, the grindylows, a Selma, a manticore… Any and all of those things could have been fatal.

Dumbledore had known something was seriously amiss and had used her little brother as bait to draw out whoever had been manipulating the events.

And now he didn't even deem to talk to them. Her brother had been getting his hand sliced every damn night, but refused to ask for Dumbledore's help – because Harry had had the veil ripped away too.

The DA was their only way to fight back, as of right now, even if their parents didn't necessarily approve. Well, except her Dad, of course.

Plus, when Ginny had suggested it… well, she hadn't exactly _seen_ anything, but something had told her to leave the name be.

But the implied loyalty to the Headmaster rankled. She reminded herself that she was doing it for the children.

And for Harry.

* * *

Marina thought to herself that if Ron got any more nervous, he would surely faint and fall off his broomstick. The first match of the season was against Slytherin. Draco was up there, probably wishing to be anywhere else. He was persona non grata since he'd become friends with Harry.

And then she heard it and felt herself pale.

" _Weasley cannot save a thing,_

 _He cannot block a single ring,_

 _That's why we Slytherins all sing:_

 _Weasley is our King._

 _Weasley was born in a bin_

 _He always lets the Quaffle in_

 _Weasley will make sure we win_

 _Weasley is our King."_

Collective outrage filled her from all sides. And dread. Because if Ron had one weakness, it was his insecurity. This was very bad. Lee's attempts to drown the Slytherins out were wasted.

" _Weasley is our King_

 _Weasley is our King_

 _He always lets the Quaffle in_

 _Weasley is our King_."

She saw Harry stop mid-air and watch what they all knew would happen. The morons in green all but screamed out their lungs with their new rhyme – and Ron let it get to him. Slytherin scored.

It was a painful thing to watch, especially for her since she could feel Ron's shame and anger. Good grief, even Draco was disgusted – and only a few years ago, he would have done this himself.

Harry, as per usual, saved the day and caught the Snitch. Ron, of course, was in no mood to celebrate.

Someone else would have to cheer him up, Marina thought, as she senses a wave of such rage come from the twins that she started sprinting towards the team, the rest of their friends in tow. When she got there, she heard Zabini – that, that, bastard – taunt the twins about their parents. Just as she came to a halt, the moron had the bloody _nerve_ to insult Lily.

Harry, who had been holding back George up until then, froze. He released the redhead and, together, they took a few steps forward.

Thank Merlin and Morgaine for their friends. Angelina, Alicia and Katie were still holding Fred, so Carmen, Trish and Sam grabbed George. Theo, Hermione and Draco all but shackled Harry with their arms and legs – Susan had followed Ron.

Meanwhile, the teachers had gotten close enough to overhear Zabini and his insults. And the freaking moron came _closer_.

 _If only_ , she thought, _there was a way to make him pay without getting us all expelled_. Harry's anguish and pain almost brought her to her knees. He never could take someone insulting Lily.

When the idiot was close enough, her instincts took over. Somehow, without any clue how she was doing it, she _drew_ on Harry's agony and rage, and shoved Zabini backwards.

As their skin connected briefly, she could feel all that emotion… pouring into the Slytherin.

Zabini collapsed like a sack of rocks, gasping for air.

* * *

She watched dumbfounded as Blaise tried to struggle back to his feet. Her and the rest of the school. But Zabini was too busy wilting under the force of… what exactly? She'd barely touched the dimwit.

Her empathy told her that he was crumbling under pain and anger unlike any she'd ever sensed in anyone… but Harry.

Chills ran down her spine. Was it possible she had just… forced Harry's agony onto someone else?  
"What the heck?" Harry questioned behind her, the scene finally bringing everyone back to their senses.

"You got me," she mumbled, thoroughly confused.

Marina had known the empathy could increase her power, if used correctly. But to use it as… what? A weapon?

"What did you do?" Angelina asked quietly, aware of the teachers listening.

"Not a damn thing. Just pushed him away."

She'd tell her friends her suspicions later – but sure as hell not in front of the teachers. Especially not Snape and Umbridge, who were just waiting for an excuse to take points. Or worse.

But, by Merlin, Marina would have to do some serious research.


End file.
